


No Coward Soul is Mine

by tohaveheristohavethestars



Series: The Caos Chronicles. [2]
Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Any possible triggers are listed in the notes of the chapter they're part of, Domestic Fluff, Drama, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Family Fluff, Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Smut, Happy Ending, Kid Fic, Mama Zelda, Mama Zelda Spellman, Parent Zelda Spellman, Parents Faustus Blackwood/Zelda Spellman, Pregnancy, Protective Hilda Spellman, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Smut, Zelda Spellman Needs A Hug, Zelda Spellman is Bad at Feelings, Zelda Spellman-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:27:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 38,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29198340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tohaveheristohavethestars/pseuds/tohaveheristohavethestars
Summary: Sequel to 'I Am Out With Lanterns Looking For Myself.'6 months after the events of the last fic everything seems to be going well for the Spellman-Blackwood family. However, with everything seemingly settled, monsters under the bed come out to play, and as Zelda knows, no amount of peace can last, especially not in Greendale.
Relationships: Faustus Blackwood/Zelda Spellman, Spellwood - Relationship, Zelda/Faustus
Series: The Caos Chronicles. [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2145579
Comments: 43
Kudos: 44





	1. Tissue paper and Ribbon.

_"Happy birthday, to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday Gloriana, happy birthday to you!"_

The room was dim, silver tapered candles dotted all around, their flames mingling with the haze of the fairy lights that were hung around the room. A banner with the words 'Happy 1st birthday' written on it in calligraphy hung at one side of the space, the phrase previously having an exclamation mark at the end until Zelda had seen it and declared it to be 'too much', as if she wasn't the one packaging a _1-year-old's_ presents in tissue paper and ribbon whilst wondering over which classical music to play on the gramophone throughout the celebrations, the woman having ordered Ambrose to paint over the exclamation mark moments after seeing it. As everyone sang the words to 'happy birthday' (the singing remarkably in tune) the candles on the two tier white and silver iced cake with edible pearls and pink roses flickered and the cake was placed in front of the party 'host' - a curly haired 1-year-old dressed in a pale pink silk and lace party dress with a ribbon in her hair and big blue eyes that watched the candles with intrigue and fascination, the girl not understanding her aunt as she was told to 'blow out the candles and make a wish', Zelda rolling her eyes and telling Hilda that Gloriana didn't know what a 'wish' was, Faustus crouching down on his haunches next to his daughter and smiling at her as he asked her if _she_ could help _him_ blow out the candles, the man miming blowing them out to show her what he meant, knowing she would never accept his help if he asked her the question the other way round, Gloriana beaming in response and clapping her hands in excitement. Faustus wrapped an arm around her tiny, narrow shoulders to make sure that she didn't lean in too close to the flames and the laughter and chatter amongst the group seated at the table died down as they watched the father and daughter duo blow out the candles on the cake. Gloriana obviously couldn't do very much, but her father helped and made sure to act as though she was the one doing the work, blowing out the candles with her as everyone cheered. 

As soon as the flames were out Hilda told her niece to think of something she really wanted, knowing the things she wanted would most likely come true with parents such as hers, parents who spoiled their daughter and acted out her every whim, Gloriana falling silent for a moment before her aunt asked if she'd finished, the baby getting distracted in response, letting out a squeal of delight as Vinegar Tom (brought back to life by Mambo Marie as an early birthday gift for Gloriana and, in turn, also a gift for Zelda) licked her knee-high sock wearing leg, the redhead giggling at the sensation. Faustus stood up from where he'd been bent down and sat back in his chair as Hilda handed Zelda the knife to cut the first slice of cake, the woman doing so, plating up a small 1-year-old-sized portion and setting it in front of her daughter before sitting down, leaning in and picking up the small silver baby-fork next to the plate, placing a small bit of cake onto the fork and feeding it to Gloriana, whose eyes turned wide in delight as she tasted just how sweet it was.

Once the plates and cutlery were cleared and a certain baby girl's face and hands were cleaned up it was time for presents. As Hilda hastily put away the remainder of the cake (there not being much left due to the majority of the Academy being in attendance of the party) Zelda picked up her daughter, carefully positioning her so that she was resting against her side and ensuring the little girl didn't accidentally kick her growing stomach with a bejewelled satin shoe wearing foot as she made her way to the living room, sitting in her chair as Vinegar Tom curled up at her feet and Faustus sat next to her, the man reaching over to Gloriana, cupping her face with his hand and stroking her cheek with his thumb before moving on to straighten the sleeve on her dress and ask her if she was having a good time, Gloriana replying with a half muffled coo as she sucked her thumb, this action causing Faustus to chuckle.

"How are you feeling?" Faustus asked Zelda with concern in his tone as he captured her tired gaze, knowing that at 6 months pregnant with their second child she would be rather exhausted in spite of the joy she was feeling over their daughter's 1st birthday. 

"Perfectly content," Zelda responded resiliently, not wanting to show weakness, "The adrenaline from today has yet to leave me." 

Nodding, Faustus turned his head as Nick Scratch glanced towards the pile of presents at the centre of the room and made a remark about how they had seemingly purchased a gift for every hour Gloriana had been on earth, Zelda remarking 

"You're wrong, Mr Scratch, it's a present for every minute she's been on this earth, your numeracy skills seem to have failed you." 

The group of people surrounding the young warlock chuckling as Nick smirked and shook his head in response. 

"Now then, who needs a refill?" Hilda spoke up as she returned to the group. 

"I do," began Prudence, holding out her now empty wine glass towards Hilda, the blonde topping her up as Ambrose suggested she slow down, Prudence looking to her sometime-lover and arching an eyebrow as she retorted, "Maybe you need to speed up, instead," with a teasing glimmer in her eye. 

Ambrose chuckling at this and sticking out his glass for Hilda to refill. 

As Gloriana began making her boredom known everyone winced at her sudden high pitched crying and Zelda shushed the babe on her lap, gently bouncing her on her knee and stating that they should get on with the presents if they didn't want a tantrum on their hands, she and Faustus standing up and sitting on the crushed velvet throw placed directly in front of the presents, Zelda with her legs to one side in a side saddle position and Faustus with his legs crossed and his back straight as Gloriana was placed in between them, Vinegar Tom having followed them and curled up by the little girl's side, the sweet little thing taking in the pile of presents with a look of awe on her face, dimples popping in her cheeks as she was told to pick one. Seeing the present his daughter outstretched a hand towards Faustus placed it in front of her and Zelda set about helping Gloriana open it, the mother doing most of the work as Gloriana watched and clawed at the tissue paper once or twice. The gift was from the Queen of Hell herself, a black onyx bracelet set in silver and held in an oak wood box, the bracelet spelled to fit perfectly and charmed with a protection spell despite the stones already having protective properties, because with everything Gloriana had been through it never hurt to be overly cautious. Gloriana was more impressed with the paper from this gift, placing it on her head like a hat as Zelda (being rather stunned, humbled and grateful that Lilith had thought to send such a surprisingly thoughtful present, the woman obviously knowing how worried she still was over Gloriana’s safety and most likely wanting to protect the little prodigy for her own gain) asked her daughter what she thought of it, trying to return her attention back to the pile of gifts in front of her, Vinegar Tom barking in response to his witch's question and causing laughter to spread throughout the room. 

"Is that right, Vinegar Tom?" Zelda asked with a loving smile on her face as she looked at her once deceased familiar, the small dog wagging his tail in response. 

As Faustus delicately removed the tissue paper from his daughter's head the baby let out a cry of 'No!', only satiated when her father balled up the tissue paper (he didn’t want Gloriana to accidentally suffocate herself by pulling it down over her head, after all) and handed it to her, the little one beginning to play with that instead as she was asked 

"Which gift do you want next?" 

"Have her open mine." Spoke up Hilda, Dr Cee saying that he thought that was a good idea as he lovingly rubbed his partner's shoulder, Gloriana reaching out her arms towards the gift to the bottom left of the pile. 

"One moment, Gloriana, let me check if that's the right gift before you open it..." mused Faustus, checking the tag before saying, “It is...” a somewhat impressed tone in his voice as he spoke. 

Zelda giving her daughter a smile before proudly asking, "How did you know that, Gloriana?", not at all expecting her daughter to answer. 

As Faustus removed the gift from the pile, he pushed it towards Gloriana who looked at the gift and said ''Oy!' as she leant forwards and crawled towards the present. 

"It might be a toy; you'll have to wait and see." Coaxed Faustus, untying the ribbon on the present as Gloriana sucked her thumb. The man pulled off the paper to reveal a handmade soft toy in the shape of a beagle, the toy dog being made from pieces of old fabric from dresses Gloriana had grown out of as she aged from a Newborn to a 1-year-old, Hilda speaking up that it was completely made by her own hand, explaining what it was made from and that she thought it would be just the right thing for Gloriana to have now because of how much she loved Vinegar Tom, commenting that it would be nice for her niece to have her own version of him, that it would be a lovely memento of the bond she and Vinnie T shared and finally that it would be an ode to her baby days as well as the love her aunt had for her when she got older. 

Zelda was touched by this gift. For a moment she felt a bit teary at the it's many meanings and the thought behind it, silently blaming such a feeling on her hormones and thankfully not letting the tears fall as she thanked Hilda for the it, her baby daughter letting out a squeak of joy as she hugged the handsewn beagle to her chest as tightly as she could, warmth blossoming in Zelda's gaze as she watched the moment. 

"Open mine next." Suggested Prudence, silently eager to see what her sister thought of the item she had purchased, Zelda pushing the correct gift towards Gloriana, who looked at the present and stated ''Oy!' before her mother opened the gift, Gloriana half watching and half playing with the buckle on her shoe as her mother pulled a small wooden box forth from the tissue and opened the lid of the box to reveal a rattle made from real gold, Gloriana reaching for it, Zelda taking a moment to inspect the item before handing it to her daughter, who waved the rattle eagerly, the sound of bells ringing out from it causing Gloriana to giggle. The rattle was exquisite, with a thin handle that led upwards to a set of several small crowns all individually held on a separate prong, each crown holding a tiny golden bell inside them, a delicate vine pattern etched across the entirety of the rattle. 

"Prudence, this is stunning," spoke Faustus after a hushed silence had fallen across the room, "Wherever did you get this?" 

Sitting up a little straighter in her seat Prudence replied 

"I commissioned it from a blacksmith in Underdale, he owed me a favour and is a brilliant craftsman, don't you think?" 

Faustus nodded slowly, watching his youngest daughter play with the gift from her sister, the toy beagle still on her lap and Vinegar Tom himself peering up at the item as she played. 

"Thank you, Prudence, it's divine." Commented Zelda, giving her step-daughter a little nod of gratitude. 

With a small smile Prudence raised her goblet a few inches into the air in response before taking a sip of her drink and Zelda suggested Gloriana open another gift. Upon it being revealed that the infant was right about the contents of the latest gift once again Agatha wondered aloud how the baby knew what her presents were before they were opened, it being realised moments later that the girl's mind reading abilities were coming into play just like Sabrina had said months ago, the teenager voicing that Gloriana had appeared to read her mind the same day she and Ambrose had been tasked with looking after their little cousin for the first time, the incident occurring not long before the infant had gone missing. Whenever a gift was mentioned, it was deduced that Gloriana was able to see the image that the gift giver's mind involuntarily conjured up, the bright little girl declaring what it was out of excitement and because she and her family members often played a learning-game in which she would have to repeat or say the name of the item that was offered to her. These skills, both magical and ordinary, were aiding Gloriana in both knowing and saying the names of the items wrapped in tissue paper, her mind reading ability informed her of the gift itself and her learned behaviour caused her to excitedly babble its name, something that, whilst adorable, didn't keep the surprise element of the exchange very well hidden for everyone else. 

After this confusion was sorted out more gifts were opened, all of them incredibly thoughtful, perfectly chosen and well received. The 1-year-old had been gifted everything from cuddly toys, to blankets, to clothes, accessories, jewellery for when she was older, books, and the everything in between, Zelda and Faustus thoroughly spoiling their daughter with numerous presents that only added to the pile of those already given to her.

At 11pm the guests had adjourned, the party having turned more into a 'party' after Gloriana had fallen asleep, the golden-haired babe curled up in her mother's arms, a party hat half falling off her curls as she sucked her thumb, far too tired to finish opening all the presents or stay awake for much longer. Tissue paper was being tidied away as empty drinking glasses were collected from their various places in the room, the fire was dying in the grate and as Hilda and Dr. Cee tidied up Faustus helped his wife upstairs to bed, settling their newly 1-year-old daughter into her cot as Sabrina went upstairs to room. Ambrose remained asleep during this, resting with his head face down against the table top as Prudence decided to stay the night after Hilda realised just how south of tipsy the regal eldest Blackwood daughter was. 

All in all, Gloriana Lyra Blackwood's 1st birthday had been a success, and as Zelda drifted off to sleep all she could hope was that the months afterwards would continue in a similar fashion, the logical side of her brain telling her such hopes were feeble and the woman wishing she could shut the nagging voice of doubt out of her head just this once. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Just a heads up that whilst angst will be a main theme of this fic fluff will also be a main theme, if there's anything you want to see our little family do then let me know in the comments.


	2. The Skeletons In Both Their Closets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I only posted recently but I'm in lockdown and time has no meaning so here we are. 🖤

Zelda Spellman awoke feeling dreadful, her stomach contracting as waves of nausea hit her seconds after she opened her eyes, the pounding sensation in her right temple fierce enough to cause her to let out a small hiss of pain. As she remained lying down, the burgundy satin bedclothes tucked around her, she took a deep breath, half shutting her eyes as she did so. She could tell Faustus wasn't there despite not having felt for him on the other side of the bed, rather grateful that he wasn't around to see her like this as she slowly moved herself upwards into sitting position and pushed her hair from her face. Her body felt warm, far too warm, the bedclothes sticking to her body as she settled back against the bed's headboard, and as she waited a few seconds for her head to stop violently throbbing in the aftermath of her sitting upright she let the room come into view. 

It was a mess. 

She and Faustus hadn't had Gloriana last night, Hilda was meant to be bringing her home when she, Sabrina and Ambrose returned this morning, the family having stayed at the Academy with Gloriana for a night in order to give Zelda and Faustus some peace. It had taken a lot of convincing for Zelda to let Gloriana go for a single night, but Hilda had said she wasn't going to let the infant out of her sight, Zelda frantically worrying over anything and everything that could happen, Ambrose and Sabrina saying they'd be staying in the room with their cousin as well and that nothing was going to happen to Gloriana on their watch, Zelda knowing that her family wouldn't leave Gloriana alone for a moment but still fretting over what may happen. She had eventually agreed to the plan when Hilda has said she'd lock every door and window, have numerous wards up, make sure Gloriana was wearing her bracelet at all times and that she, Sabrina, Ambrose and Prudence would be wearing necklaces enchanted to glow if anyone other than themselves were heading towards Gloriana. Faustus and Zelda had talked long and hard over this, panic regarding their daughter's safety still there despite all of these reassurances. It was eventually decided that their daughter could spend the night with her aunt, cousins and sister at the Academy after Hilda had agreed to have a spell cast on a mirror in the couple's Academy bedroom, a spell that would allow Faustus and Zelda to look in on Gloriana as much as they wanted without being seen by the others, their pride and concern taken into consideration, it being conceded by the pair that they really did need a night without the responsibility of their daughter after Hilda had reminded her brother in law that he'd fallen asleep at his office desk the other day, the furious blush immediately colouring the man's cheeks enough to make him agree to the Fort Knox style night away Gloriana and the rest of her family would be having. Because of this much needed peace and quiet being granted to them the couple had spent the majority of the night alone involved in rather Adult activities. As Zelda spotted her bra discarded on the floor several feet away from her slip, she ran her eyes over the trail of discarded items leading up to their bed, briefly recalling the events that had occurred last night, the image of Faustus with his hands firmly gripping her thighs hard enough to leave marks as he held her lower body down on top of him, and her with her head thrown back as he moved inside her flashing across her mind. 

A wave of badly timed nausea made itself known in Zelda's stomach seconds after the memory had surfaced and the woman grimaced, swallowing hard before throwing back the bed clothes and rushing to the bathroom, shoving the door shut behind her and bending over the toilet basin, holding her hair back as she proceeded to empty the contents of her stomach, bile and half-digested food mingling together as they burnt the back of her throat and made their way into the toilet bowl. Once finished she let out a long, shaky breath, resting her hands against the toilet seat to steady herself, remaining bent over the toilet for a moment in an attempt to get her limbs to stop shaking before managing to stand upright once more and flush the chain, her body weak, vision blurring as she turned, leaning her unsteady hands against the top of the cupboard that was situated below the sink to steady herself, Zelda looking into the mirror, taking another breath before inspecting her reflection. 

Oh, that wouldn't do. That wouldn't do at all. She had bags under her eyes, her hair was a mess, and her skin was waxy and pale, entire face pinched. 

Making her way into the shower the woman cleaned herself, washing her hair with rose scented products (any other scent making her gag at this stage of her pregnancy) and lathering her body in a luxurious brand of body wash. It was after she'd washed her face and had begun brushing her teeth that she felt the little flutter of her baby kicking, the woman pausing for a moment and placing a hand to her swollen stomach.

Removing the toothbrush head from her mouth, Zelda softly brushed her fingers over the section of her stomach where she'd felt the sensation.

"Well," She whispered, there being silence for half a second before she felt another kick right where her hand was placed, a gentleness in her tone as she continued, "It's nice to meet you too." 

When she'd discovered she was pregnant again in the months after Gloriana had come home she hadn't wanted to believe it, hadn't been sure if it was the right time to have a second child, the news coming during such a dark and difficult time in both she and Faustus's lives, a time when they had only been focused on their newly returned daughter. It wasn't that she hadn't wanted another baby, it was more that she was worried over how much attention she would have to divide between her children at a time when Gloriana would need her most. However, in the months afterwards she had grown used to the idea, had even grown mildly content in regard to it as things slowly returned to a shade of normal, and now, as she felt the first fervent flutter of kicks from the unborn babe she was carrying she felt connected. This child wasn't just the reason she felt much too emotional or the reason none of her clothing fit properly anymore, it wasn't just the thing in the back of her mind whenever she was falling asleep, it was real, a living breathing little thing dependant on her and preparing to come join the rest of the family. 

As the infant kicked again Zelda chuckled, gently running her fingers over her stomach, and as everything fell still once again, she wiped droplets of water from her eyes, blaming them on spray from the shower head despite knowing full well that wasn't the cause, and continuing to brush her teeth, feeling a little brighter than when she had stepped inside the bathroom. 

* * *

Years ago, if you'd have asked Zelda if she ever thought she'd enter the kitchen to see Faustus leaning against a worktop in the Spellman Family House with a smile on his face just for her as he held their daughter in his arms, his breath tickling her cheek as he leant forwards to kiss her, she would never have said 'yes.' The skeletons in both their closets must have found it difficult to swindle their joined fates, because here and now with Faustus Blackwood, Zelda had never felt happier. 

"Good morning, husband." Zelda spoke upon pulling away from the kiss in order to speak clearly.

"Good morning, wife." Faustus responded, leaning in and pressing his lips against hers once more. 

"'Ee!" Piped up Gloriana from where she was being held in between them, pushing against her mother's arm as she looked up at her, demanding a 'good morning' for herself and whining about it in baby talk and babble with the most adorable look of impatience on her face. 

Opening her eyes once more, still feeling the after effects of the kiss, Zelda smiled and took Gloriana from the arms of her father, holding her close and saying, "Good morning, darling girl," punctuating her words by pressing a forehead kiss against the infant's skin, Gloriana beaming and letting out a sugar sweet giggle in response to this, dimples popping in her cheeks as she did so. 

"Coffee?" Offered Faustus, moving to take Gloriana and place her down on her pale pink play mat, the baby sucking on her thumb as she bum-shuffled over towards the porcelain doll Dr. Cee had bought her for her birthday, letting out a coo as she reached her free hand out towards it. 

"Yes, thank you." Zelda replied, slipping into her seat at the head of the table as the man poured her a small cupful of decaff espresso, "Where is Hilda?" She asked, "I assumed she'd be back by now." 

"She and the incubus she's dating went into town to get a few things. She dropped Gloriana off whilst you were in the shower." Faustus replied, disdain in his voice as he spoke of the man Hilda disgracefully tied herself to. 

That was quite the Hilda move, keeping Zelda in her mind as she went about her day, the woman would have known she'd be worrying over when her baby returned home and in respect to this would have decided to drop her off early to stop her worrying. Zelda fleetingly mused over this as she picked up the cup her husband had set in front of her, thankful that they had the house to themselves for a while longer... they really did need to get their own place or move into the Academy full time but after everything that had happened with Gloriana they were reluctant to do so, little did Zelda know that Faustus had a plan to solve that issue. 

As Faustus sat by her and sipped his coffee the pair fell into a comfortable silence that was reminiscent of when they used to study together as teenagers at the Academy, and whilst in this silence Zelda thought back over what her husband had said, remarking, "The baby kicked whilst I was in the shower," as she set her coffee cup down. 

Her husband looked up at this, his blue eyes widening in intrigue as he leaned in closer and uttered, "Really?", leaning over and placing a hand against her stomach as if the babe would suddenly begin kicking once again simply because they were speaking about it. 

Gloriana quietly cooed to herself in baby talk as this occurred, moving the ear of her soft toy beagle up to her mouth and sucking on it, holding it with one hand and keeping the ear in her mouth as she reached for the rattle Prudence had bought her. 

Meanwhile Zelda arched an eyebrow at her husband and said that she hardly thought the baby would begin kicking now, her words cut short as the child did just that moments later, Faustus letting a smile spread across his lips as he felt the baby move, the excitement in his eyes exactly the same as that which had been present when she had been pregnant with Gloriana, and on par with the worry he had he had obviously felt when Constance had been pregnant or Zelda had been in the birthing chamber, the intensity of the man's feelings never being anything other than set at the highest level possible. 

"That's my boy." Faustus quietly said to himself as he felt the baby kick again, moving his hand away as the kicks died down and looking up to see a storm on Zelda's face. 

"My _boy?_ " She asked, temper rising, "Faustus, we've spoken about this, you told me you would never-" 

"I know!" Cut in Faustus, holding up a hand to quell Zelda's words, "It is not an old habit rearing its head once more, I have a feeling that the babe may be a boy this time, kindly don't discredit me by being paranoid." 

Listening to her husband's declaration, Zelda worried for a moment, anger dancing on her skin. Could this be a lie meant to calm her and hide his true thoughts? No... No... it couldn't be. Faustus had promised. He had made a vow. She was simply being overly cautious; she was just worrying too much... that was it. Of course, that was it. Her traits of judgement and distrust were colouring her view. After all they had been through, after all that had passed between them... after The Witch's Cell, shattered charms and Hellfire … she could trust him just this once, could she not? 

Glancing back up at her husband she tilted her head downwards in acceptance of what he had said, sipping her coffee once more and letting the inky blackness of the taste calm her. She wanted desperately to take a drag of a cigarette at this moment, however her cigarettes and beautiful golden cigarette holder were tucked away in a draw in her bedside table, the woman knowing she couldn't smoke whilst expecting. 

"Of course, Faustus, I was simply worried is all." She eventually responded, shaking her head a little at herself in an act of dutiful contrition, the woman knowing how to play Faustus Blackwood just right so that he would forgive whatever perceived act of wrong she had done, this being an old trick she had learnt back in their Academy days. 

With a touch of his hand against hers Faustus accepted this, and the front door opened moments later, Zelda and Faustus both jumping, their eyes instantly going towards Gloriana, Faustus, who was nearest to the infant, standing up and protectively picking her up from where she was sat amongst her pile of toys. 

"Only me!" Cheerily called out Hilda several moments later and Zelda let out an agitated sigh, standing up and heading to put her cup in the sink as she snapped 

"For Lilith's sake, Hilda, you know you are to announce yourself as soon as you open the door! We could have thought you were anyone, you're lucky we didn't curse you, which is what you deserve for forgetting the rules we've set!" 

The venom in her clipped tone was chilling and Hilda faltered before saying 

"I... I know, sorry Zels, but look what I bought," the bubbly blonde digging into her bag before pulling out a small box and saying with a smile, as if her words would defuse the situation, "tulip bulbs, they'll look lovely in the garden." 

With a scowl Zelda batted the small box of bulbs out of her sister's hand. Hilda turning her attention away from where she had been waving to Gloriana and looking on as it fell to the floor with a sad frown on her face as her sister seethed 

"I couldn't care less about the damn bulbs, Hilda. You stick to the rules we set up!" 

"I know, I know," urged Hilda, remorse mingling with sincerity as she looked at her sister with wide eyes, "I was going to say it was me but then I dropped my keys and got distracted by that so I didn't say anything." With a defeated sigh she finished, "I'm sorry. It won't happen again." 

Zelda giving her sister a look through narrowed eyes for a few seconds that lingered in the air before saying, 

"Very well. Now pick up the bulbs and put your things away. Where are Ambrose and Sabrina?" 

As Faustus set Gloriana back down on her play mat he moved towards his wife, slipping behind her and refilling his coffee as Hilda said they were just coming, Ambrose and Sabrina entering the house and calling out that they were back before locking the door behind them moments later. 

"Hey Aunt Zee," piped up Sabrina as she entered, Ambrose greeting his aunt with a similar tone as the blonde glanced towards Faustus and nodded a steely hello, never warming up to her uncle in law and head teacher in spite of everything that had happened since he had married her aunt. 

As Sabrina helped Hilda put away the things she had purchased at the shop, Zelda slotted into the small gap next to her husband, her coffee in hand as the pair watched Hilda do the hard work with slightly judgemental expressions on their faces, the pair clearly deeming such work to be undesirable and below a witch's standing. Whilst this occurred Ambrose headed over to Gloriana's play mat, crouching down in front of her with a greeting of 

"Hello, little wolf." 

The nickname coming from the fact that straight from birth Gloriana had been through and survived hideous hardships, her high intelligence, fiery emotions, scrappy behaviour and close-knit bond with her family being just some of the traits he felt she shared with the animal, this making what he felt to be a perfect term of endearment for his baby cousin. 

Surveying the scene before him, the warlock asked "What are you doing?" as he spotted the soggy ear of the toy version of Vinegar Tom (the real version asleep in an armchair by the fire) "Have you had his ear in your mouth?" Ambrose pointing at 'Toy Tom's' ear and then towards Gloriana's mouth so she understood what he was saying, chuckling as Gloriana nodded and let out a mumbled sentence of incomprehensible sounds as she reached out her arms towards the him, an intensity to her face that was all her mother’s. 

Reading between the lines Ambrose picked her up, holding her in his arms as he stood once again, carrying the baby with him to the kitchen as the girl pawed at his shirt buttons, twisting one between her thumb and finger in a shaky pincer movement, her toy dropped to the floor as intrigue over the shiny pieces of silver metal grew inside her, the baby tugging on one, Ambrose gently pushing her hand away from the buttons and falling victim to crocodile tears spilling forth from a petulant Gloriana. 

As soon as the tears began the heads of the parents of the child whipped round, and Ambrose looked like a deer in the headlights, attempting to stifle the cries from his cousin as he thought on his feet and pointed towards Sabrina, asking the baby 

"Who's that? Is that Sabrina?" 

Sabrina looking up and giving Gloriana and big smile before sticking her tongue out at her. 

"'Na." Mumbled Gloriana, still feebly clinging to her tears and sadness as she sniffed, calling her cousin the name she had given her several days ago when first trying to say her name. 

"Very good, Gloriana!" Enthused Sabrina as she handed Hilda an item of shopping to put away. 

Seeing Gloriana go to reach for the buttons on her cousin's shirt once more, still fascinated by the things, Ambrose pointed towards Hilda before asking

"And who's that?" 

Hilda smiling over at Gloriana as she put away the bread, letting out a little, "Hello Gloriana," giving her a small wave before continuing, "you look lovely in your green dress, don't you?" Trying to help Ambrose with the distraction technique, the man ignoring the arched eyebrows of his uncle in law and much sterner aunt as they watched the scene with dry amusement. 

"Ah-da." Responded Gloriana to Ambrose's question, combining the first bit of 'aunt' and the last bit of 'Hilda' into one mispronounced name. 

Her tears were drying now and she seemed to have forgotten about her upset, the distraction of a game working wonders, Ambrose letting out a small sigh of relief as he held his cousin, deeming the crisis averted. 

That was when Gloriana started fussing rather loudly, sucking on the fingers of her left hand, Ambrose looking down at her and wondering what she was doing as Zelda spotted this action and moved to the cupboard on the other side of the kitchen, opening it and picking up Gloriana's baby formula as the 1-year-old began to cry, Hilda moving to the drainer, casting a drying spell over the clean baby bottle on the side and handing it to her sister, Zelda moving on to pour a small amount of boiled water from the kettle into a the bottle, casting a cooling spell on the water so that it was at a drinkable temperature and adding 6 scoopfuls of formula into it, shutting the lid on top of the bottle and shaking it, casting another spell to make sure the powder and water were combined just right. Pouring a little of the warm milk onto her inner wrist the woman checked the temperature to make sure it was alright, deeming it acceptable seconds later and taking Gloriana in her arms as Ambrose hastily handed his discontented cousin to her, the babe's mother asking her if she was hungry, Gloriana giving her a tearful nod and accepting the bottle as it was placed in her hands. 

As Zelda passed Gloriana her bottle the cries of hunger from the baby died down and peace settled into the room as all fell quiet, the only noise in the room being the suckling sound coming from Gloriana, who was now fully immersed in the task of drinking her milk. 

* * *

Several days later Zelda lay on the bed in her Academy dorm with a hand half-heartedly outstretched to her side in protest at the fact that she was unable to move. She'd gone back to her chambers to retrieve her notebook from where she'd left it and a darkness had overcome her, the woman tripping and having to be grabbed by a Gloriana-watching-Hilda as dizziness had flooded her vision. As soon as the moment had passed she'd been adamant she was going to find her notebook and head back to class but Hilda had stood firm, and rightly so, as in the next moment the woman had narrowly avoided blacking out, her vision failing her and lightheadedness causing her to stumble as she tried to remove her arm from Hilda's grip, her sister keeping hold of her and telling her she was going to bed for a time, Hilda ignoring Zelda's indignant arguing over the fact that she was half way through a lesson, saying that the lesson would have to wait and that another member of staff would step in for her. 

The expectant mother put a hand to her aching head as she lay resting against her duvet, snapping at Hilda to leave her shoes on her feet upon seeing her move to take them off for her, saying that she was damned if she was going to let this idiotic momentary lapse beat her, declaring that she'd be back in class in 10 minutes, her eyes half shut as she said this, Hilda non-believingly telling her sister that she was sure she would be and that she just needed to have a quick rest, perching on the side of her bed and taking hold of the hand that was limply laying at the end of Zelda's outstretched arm, keeping hold of it in spite of the strawberry blonde's attempt at pulling it away. 

"I'll keep watch over Gloriana, Zelds, you just have a moments rest, we don't want another fainting fit like last week, do we?" Hilda soothed, and Zelda grimaced at the memory the image conjured up, of her reaching the bottom step of the mortuary basement only to faint and land right on the floor. She'd been so angry with herself; she'd needed to help Ambrose with the latest client and yet there she had fallen, the number of stairs she'd had to go down far too many than she was capable of walking at present in spite of her differing belief. 

"Fine. I'll rest for 5 minutes." Zelda eventually said, a grumpy scowl on her face, and Hilda smiled, saying that she'd wake her sister up with a nice cup of tea, Zelda making sure to roll her eyes at that. 

In the end, Hilda left her sister to sleep for an hour instead of 5 minutes, not caring about the insults she was sure to receive when Zelda woke up much later than planned, Hilda thinking only of the wellbeing of her sister, because, although the elder of the sisters would never admit it, even Zelda Phiona Blackwood née Spellman needed to rest sometimes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Say something nice in the comments or I'll burn my house down.
> 
> I'm joking, obviously ... I don't have any matches left.


	3. Oh Willow Waly.

The noise of the floorboards near Gloriana's crib creaking was the sound that caused Zelda to wake, the woman assuming Faustus was simply checking on their daughter as she rolled over in her sleep, reaching out a hand towards her husband’s side of the bed and brushing his shoulder with her fingers. Not expecting this, she half opened her eyes upon realising he was lying next to her and sat up in bed to see a figure standing by her baby's cot, assuming it was one of her family members and squinting in the darkness to see which of them it was, finding Shirley Jackson standing by Gloriana’s cot and peering inside. 

"Shirley... how are _you_ here?" wondered Zelda under her breath, body frozen in shock as she tried to figure out what was happening, stunned as she watched the witch pick up Gloriana from her cot in the next moment. 

Looking back over her shoulder, Shirley smiled the soulless dead eyed smile she had often flashed Zelda before their hatred of each other had become public knowledge, and left the room with Gloriana in her arms. 

Zelda saw this and instantly tried to move from the bed so that she could run after Shirley and take Gloriana back her from her, finding her legs unmoving, not from shock or fear, but simply because they couldn't, her limbs being stuck, fused to the bed. 

"No, no, no!" Zelda panicked, grabbing her legs with both hands and tugging, trying to get them to play ball as she struggled to leave the mattress, "Amovere!" She yelled desperately, trying a spell, moving on to cast 'Motus' with no luck, furious that her body was betraying her, struggling to force her legs to move even an inch as she scrabbled at them and snapped, "Reptant!" 

Her legs swung into action, sliding from the mattress and placing their feet firmly on the floor without any order from Zelda. Wasting no time, the woman left the room and ran down the stairs. 

The front door was still open, slamming back and forth against the wall as the hinges creaked, and Zelda was surprised to see it was daylight outside as she'd only gone to bed about … hang on … when exactly had she gone to bed? It was hazy in her mind as she tried to remember, the bright blue colour of the sky causing her to stop in her tracks as soon as she made it through the door. 

Something wasn't right. First Shirley Jackson was there, then her legs had refused to cooperate in spite of the rest of her body being perfectly fine, and now it was daylight? 

As she stared into the distance, her brow furrowed, her red lipped mouth half open as her hair blew in the wind and white sheets flapped before her. That was strange, she didn't remember Hilda putting the sheets out on the line earlier... she must have done it when she'd been distracted, though how she wouldn't have seen her sister carrying a large wicker basket of folded sheets through the house, or heard her singing to herself, not caring how in tune she was as she did so, gave her pause. 

The clouds were growing stormy in the sky as she watched, a raven’s caw sounding from somewhere in the distance, and Zelda felt an urge to walk towards the rock face in front of her where the graveyard should have been, outstretching a hand as she took a few steps towards the mouth of a recognisable cave. 

Was that Gloriana crying she could hear? Quickening her pace, she walked down the stairs of the Spellman house and straight along the muddy pathway that was now leading her to towards the sound, the feeling of wet dirt sticking to her bare feet causing her to shudder a little as she headed towards the sound. As she moved the stars in the sky faded to black and the wind uprooted the trees as she passed them, this all feeling rather similar to the woman... as if she'd been through it before. 

Ignoring the feeling of unease, she headed into the caves, the sound of her daughter's cries staying at the same level as they had been than when she was far away, and as she took a step around a stalagmite, believing she had some way to go yet until she reached her daughter, she realised she was already in the cavern of the cave where Shirley and Gryla had been holding her many months ago. 

What? No. She … she couldn't be back here. Hadn't she already done … whatever _this_ was? 

The cave was empty. Yet as she looked down, she saw Gloriana directly below her line of sight, the baby 6 months old once more instead of her being 12 months like Zelda had thought. Reaching into the crib she shushed her daughter, gently rubbing her stomach and placing a soothing charm on her as she smiled down at the infant. 

"Oh, sweet girl, why are you all alone?" She asked, "Where's your father?" 

"Why she's not alone, of course," came a voice Zelda hadn't heard in many months, "She's with me." 

Hearing the voice, Zelda snapped her head to the side to see Gryla now holding her daughter … but she was all wrong. Her skin was far too pale, her hair full of moss and dirt, and her eyes … her eyes were pure white. 

Holding out an arm towards the now fussing and wriggling Gloriana, Zelda sternly ordered Gryla to hand her her daughter, Gryla shaking her head ‘no' as she held the tip of a dagger's blade to the baby's chest. 

"She's safe, don't worry." Said Gryla, and somehow that sent chills down Zelda's spine, the woman moving forwards as Gryla plunged the dagger deep into her daughter's chest, slicing down through her body as Zelda cried out and saying, "She's perfect... the perfect sacrifice, all nice and warm and pure, ready to be given up to the Goddess Lamia as the most beautiful offering.” 

Gryla’s teeth were bared in a smile as Gloriana's blood dripped down her hands, Zelda letting out a scream as she looked at her daughter, an ear splitting sound coming forth from her lips and filling the room as the space around her turned black, the grief stricken mother being forced from the sea of darkness that surrounded her and propelled forwards by some unknown force back into waking, the woman letting out a strained gasp for air as she sat up in bed, looking around the room, her heart pounding in her chest as she glanced around, finding the spot where Faustus usually slept empty and ripping back the bedclothes, running down the hall and into an unfamiliar room with an interior of green and grey, letting out a relieved sigh as she saw Faustus cradling Gloriana, the tiny 4 month old wrapped in a swaddling cloth as her father looked down at her with a gaze of pure love, his voice quiet as he sang to her. 

"We lay my love and I beneath the weeping willow, but now alone I lie and weep beside the tree, singing 'Oh willow waly' by the tree that weeps with me, singing 'Oh willow waly' till my lover return to me. We lay my love and I beneath the weeping willow, a broken heart have I... oh willow, I die, oh willow, I die." 

The man crooned in a low, warm, alto voice, Zelda watching the scene, the darkness of the words somehow not occurring to her in that moment, and as Faustus looked up at the end of the song he glanced at Zelda as if he had been expecting her, informing her 

"You're late." 

Zelda shaking her head as a fuzzy sense of uncertain recollection hit her, feeling as though she'd forgotten something and saying in a distracted tone, "I know, I... I was..." Pausing she frowned, her mind suddenly empty as she breathed, "I was... actually I can't recall-" 

"It's no matter." Dismissed Faustus, offering her Gloriana and placing her in her arms, Zelda glancing down as she took her daughter, her eyes widening as she saw a large section of burned skin on her husband's forearm. 

"Faustus, your arm, it's-" 

"Been destroyed by Hellfire, quick, Zelds, we have to act fast!" Came the voice of Hilda as she ran up behind her as if from nowhere, Zelda glancing up, her now empty arms by her sides, the strawberry blonde looking around the room in horror as it turned back into the cave, rushing towards Faustus as he fell to the floor in convulsions, his now entirely burned body a mottled red, his skin peeling off in her hands as she reached for him, trying to pull him to her but finding the action caused her own skin to burn. 

"No! No! What do we... Hilda... how do we..." She stammered, trailing off as Faustus began convulsing on the ground and screaming, “Help! Help me!” at an idly standing by Hilda as a circle of Hellfire erupted around them, frantically panicking and forced to watch, knelt by his side and holding his hand as her husband’s body convulsed thrice more before falling still, his breathing stopping, blood soaked and black burned skin stretching in an ugly manner as Zelda felt his wrist for a pulse, finding nothing and beginning to try chest compressions. 

"1,2,3,4,5,6,7-" Began the woman, getting to 30 and wiping her forehead with the back of her hand as the heat from the flames caused beads of sweat to form on it. "Come on, Faustus, please, please wake up," she sobbed, placing her hands to his chest and beginning to try again, "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10- it not working! It's not... help... help, Hilda, please, he can't..." 

She trailed off and tried again, her sister crouching down across from her, looking at her with glassy eyes and an uncharacteristic frown on her lips as she only watched. 

"27,28,29,30! Come on, wake up, wake up, please..." Zelda begged, letting out a distressed cry as she ran a hand through her sweat soaked hair, pushing it behind her ear as the flames licked higher, moving on to try again as Ambrose appeared next to her and grabbed her by her shoulders, trying to pull her away from her husband as she struggled against him. 

"No, no, Ambrose he can't be...we just need to..." 

"He's gone, Auntie." Said Ambrose, "He's gone," his tone full of emotion, the man ignoring Zelda's sobs of 'No, he can't, he...Lilith, Lilith, please bring him back, I pray thee’, not even wincing as she let out a long scream and beat at the ground with her balled up fist, the warlock resting a hand against her arm and lamenting 

"The Flames of Prometheus... if his love for Gloriana had been... if you hadn't killed Gryla and her final plan hadn’t been realised..." 

The man trailing off as Zelda stared at the ground, it all falling into place now. She'd somehow managed to arrive back on the day they had found Gloriana. What was playing out was what could have happened. She looked towards the body of her dead husband and hit the ground once more, letting out a scream of pure anger, eyes screwed shut as she threw her head back, tugging at her hair so hard she could feel blood congealing on her scalp. 

Pushing herself up off the floor in one fluid motion, she angrily wiped at her eyes and looked around the room for her daughter. 

No one was there. 

No Ambrose, no Hilda, no Gloriana, and as she turned to look at the fire ravaged body of her husband once more, she saw he was gone too. 

She was alone. 

If only she'd locked the door behind her after they'd left for their whiskey... then none of this would have happened. If only she'd killed Shirley Jackson when she had the chance, ending her life back when she and Edward had been dating... back before he had met Diana... maybe then she wouldn't have ended up alone in a grave of her own digging. 

* * *

Zelda's eyes flew open and she darted out of bed, looking to the empty space Faustus should have been occupying and rushing over to the crib on the other side of the room, looking in and seeing Gloriana, the 1-year-old sound asleep, her little chest rising and falling as she lay curled up on her side with her arms extended outwards and holding Hilda's handmade toy of Vinegar Tom in her clutches, her legs bent at the knee as she slept. 

Feeling her heartbeat begin to slow down, Zelda gently stroked her daughter's hair, taking a breath before stepping away from the cot and shutting her eyes. Her entire body was fizzing with adrenaline, limbs shaky, head pounding as she kept her eyes closed and took another breath, opening them again and proceeding to watch her daughter sleep for a few moments in order to, in Zelda's mind, 'pull herself together.' 

Gloriana was safe. Now to find her husband. 

Checking the window was locked shut, Zelda cast an impenetrable ward on the bedroom before shutting the door and locking the room, turning on her heel. Heading down the stairs after inspecting the bathroom the woman checked several rooms, coming up empty, her heartbeat beginning to speed up again as she searched, deciding to look in one of the back rooms, glancing through the doorway and placing a hand against her chest as she let out a small sigh of relief, the silhouette of Faustus in front of the fireplace, a whiskey to his side as he gazed down at something on the table before him coming into view. Feeling her body begin to calm down completely at last the woman watched as Faustus appeared to be working on something, her eyes fixed on him as she silently chastised herself for being so childishly foolish, the nightmare she had recently surfaced from being just that, a nightmare, one of the regular nightmares she'd had since Gloriana returned home, the nightmares she could never bring herself to share with her family whenever any of them complained of troubled sleep. 

Glancing up upon hearing footsteps, Faustus looked round to see Zelda walking towards the settee, the man casting a glamour over what he was working on so that it was hidden from view as he greeted her with a simple 

“Zelda.” 

"Faustus." The woman replied, slowly running her eyes over him to assess how he looked, careful to make sure there were no burnt patches on his skin. 

"What are you doing?" Faustus asked, confusion in his words as he looked at her with a curious expression, wondering why she was staring. 

Finding nothing, Zelda met the man's mildly concerned gaze and dismissed his question by asking one of her own, asking why he was down here. 

Without a glance back to the paper he'd been working on Faustus replied 

"I couldn't sleep so I'm working on the plans for the Academy's Ostara celebrations." 

It was a lie. Not the part about struggling to sleep, sleep giving him no comfort these last several months, his nights fitful with unpleasant dreams and frequent waking due to what had happened to his daughter, the man often awaking from poor sleep and checking on her, staying awake for long periods of time and using it to get on with any work he needed to do after checking the house was secure. No, the lie was not that, the lie was his work on Ostara plans, plans which weren't his top priority at present. Still, he knew Zelda was interested and most likely wouldn't be going back to bed any time soon, so he asked 

"I could use your help, if you would like to offer it?" 

Zelda considered this for a moment before nodding, knowing Gloriana was safe, the babe wearing her bracelet from Lilith whilst in a warded house and locked inside a warded room, the woman moving towards the sofa, sitting next to her husband and proceeding to get to work in an attempt to brush off her nightmare as she queried 

"What did you have in mind? Hilda's already got a box of vegetable seeds to plant but for the flowers we'll need lavender, violet, honeysuckle, meadow sweet and the rest, have you written that down?" 

Faustus found his usual impressed feelings in regard to Zelda's intelligence heighten as she spoke, the authority in her words and her obvious care for the work she was starting causing him to give her a lingering look before turning to the paper, silently casting a spell that would cause the work beneath the glamour to transfer onto one of the spare pieces of paper he'd brought down to work on, knowing that they wouldn't get through all of it and that his previous work would be safe as he picked up a pen and shook his head 'no' in answer, writing down the list of flowers they would need before questioning 

"Do you still have the obsidian, lazuli, jasper and sunstones I gave you a couple of years ago?" 

"Naturally." Zelda replied, the words _‘I'm not a beginner’_ and all the smugness that came with them hanging unspoken in the air for a moment, Faustus allowing himself to let the feeling of pride over his wife's conceit to be felt briefly in his chest before he suggested

"We can use the stones for the alter."

Zelda letting out a noise of agreement before the pair began to speak on another part of the Ostara celebrations. 

* * *

As Thursday morning gave way to Thursday afternoon Zelda Spellman sat on the white walled room's bed as Hilda inserted a needle into her vein in order to draw blood, the expectant mother not flinching as this happened, getting used once more to being a human pin cushion during her check-ups, thankful that her glucose tolerance test was finally over. As she lay there, Faustus hovered around her anxiously, taking her hand for a moment before going on to stand by Hilda as she worked, shortly moving back over to Zelda and resting a hand on her shoulder before deciding to remove it and instead hold her hand again. Zelda was mostly able to ignore her worrying, antsy husband, however it didn't stop his actions being rather annoying as she caught him move again in her periphery, the fiery woman eventually snapping 

"For Lilith's sake, Faustus, stop fussing!" 

Faustus pausing where he was fretfully wringing his hands and watching Hilda remove the needle from his wife's arm, looking over as he heard her speak before turning to Hilda and asking 

"When should we have her blood results back?" 

Hilda placed the vial containing her sister's blood into a wooden holder on the table near the rest of her supplies, responding without looking at him as she took her stethoscope out from her bag that it shouldn't take too long, telling Zelda to lift up her dress so that she could hear the baby's heartbeat, asking Faustus to hand her the warm towel that had been resting against the radiator, placing it over her sister's legs and hips in order to preserve her modesty. Faustus worriedly hanging back as Hilda pressed the stethoscope against Zelda's stomach and listened for a few moments in silence, Zelda practically able to hear her husband's mind fretting over everything as they waited. 

"Baby's heartbeat sounds nice and strong, I'll just measure their weight and then we'll do your blood pressure." Hilda said with a smile, setting the stethoscope to one side as Zelda shifted a little in her seat, discomfort settling into her as the baby moved, causing her to wince ever so slightly, her husband noticing this despite her efforts to make it unnoticeable. 

"She has quite a bit of pain whenever the babe moves-" began Faustus, tone worried, Hilda responding as she placed a tape measure over her sister's stomach, measuring from the woman's hip bone to the top of the uterus 

"I wouldn't worry, that's most likely because baby is getting stronger and so their movements are more powerful. Does it hurt all the time, Zelda, or is it only when the baby moves?" Zelda calmly responding that it was only when the babe moved and that it hadn't hurt during the first trimester, Hilda nodding and taking this on board as she said, "If it gets worse or becomes constant tell me and we'll go from there, but it sounds normal for this stage of pregnancy, only 7 more months to go, after all!" 

Faustus (having turned remarkably pale as the check-up took place due to fear that something would be wrong with the child) rubbed the back of Zelda's hand affectionately as Hilda put her tape measure away and helped her sister pull down her dress. 

"Is everything alright?" Faustus asked, "In regard to the health of the baby?" - Zelda breathing an irritated 'Faustus' as he asked another question, this having to be the 13th one he'd asked since the check-up began. 

With a little nod Hilda said

"Baby's a little small, so we really need to get more food into you, Zelds, I know it's difficult what with you feeling so tired and sick, but if we can try-" 

"Yes, fine," cut off Zelda, not in the mood to be told what she already knew, letting out a small breath as the baby kicked once more, her answer to the earlier question on foetal movements being that it felt like the babe never stopped moving lately, a response that had caused Hilda to chuckle and Faustus to ask if that was considered normal, getting a positive reply, the man and wife's fear being that something would go wrong either before or during the birth of the child, like it had with Gloriana and in the pregnancies of Faustus's dead ex-wife. 

As Hilda slipped the blood pressure cuff onto her sister's arm Faustus watched, his body tense as he watched the cuff expand and waited for the reading, instantly picking up on the slight frown on Hilda's face, asking what was wrong, 

"Blood pressure is a little high, not by much but we'll need to watch it, you know what to look out for, don't you, Zels?" Queried Hilda, her sister saying 'of course' and resting a hand against her stomach as the midwife continued, "I'll check it more regularly just to keep an eye on it but aside from that and the baby's size everything seems to be fine, and what isn't is something that can be worked on, there's no cause for alarm." 

Faustus felt relieved at hearing the words and Hilda helped her sister down from the bed, the blonde ignoring Zelda's snapping of the fact that she wasn't an invalid, her husband taking her arm and guiding her out of the room, Vinegar Tom hopping off the chair he'd been sitting on and following them with an excited yap. 

* * *

In the heavily warded room next door to where the check-up was going on Prudence sat on the carpet watching Gloriana shakily hold out a small pale pink and white floral designed porcelain tea cup. The cup was part of a baby sized set containing a teapot, milk jug, sugar bowl, tea spoon, and tea cups with saucers, it being charmed to prevent breakages, the set being a gift from one of Hilda's friends for Gloriana on her birthday. As Gloriana offered her the cup Prudence smiled, gently taking it from her and thanking her in a sweet tone one only uses when speaking to infants, her baby sister copying her as she raised her tea cup up to her lips and 'drank' the 'tea' in the empty cup. 

Whilst Gloriana hadn't really got a handle on the purpose of the tea set yet, she was learning fast, having watched as Prudence had set it out for her upon being directed to the toy her baby sister wanted to play with, the babe now being comfortable with the purpose of the game and cooing as Prudence asked Agatha and Dorcas if they 'needed a refill', Gloriana stretching out her free hand to Dorcas, who looked at her in confusion as the infant reached for her, extending her free hand out to Gloriana as Prudence widened her eyes at her in a clear suggestion that she was to go with whatever Gloriana wanted, the baby wrapping her hand around Dorcas's little finger as the red haired teen’s hand met hers, Agatha shrugging in response to the question regarding a refill, Prudence saying, in an attempt not to upset Gloriana, that she'd pour her a fresh cup anyway, doing so and handing the empty cup back to Agatha, who looked from Gloriana to Prudence and awkwardly 'sipped' the tea. 

Prudence had invited Agatha and Dorcas to join the tea party after they followed her into the warded room in which their sister, Ambrose and Sabrina had been asked to watch Gloriana whilst Zelda had her check-up, the two weird sisters sitting in the corner of the room until Prudence had suggested they join in, Ambrose and Sabrina studying by the window and talking amongst themselves, the leader of the three girls saying 

"Come now, Agatha, Dorcas, sit with your sisters." 

The two teens reluctant to join at first, Agatha meeting Dorcas's gaze as her sister had asked, "Sisters?" in a confused tone. 

Prudence having replied, "Yes, sisters, Gloriana is my sister, and so she is yours, for you are my sisters also." 

They'd agreed to join after that, half out of fear of the authority that was in Prudence voice and half through curiosity at her statement. 

As Gloriana dropped Dorcas's hand she crawled over to Prudence, pawing at her lap and mumbling “‘Ee” in an unclear attempt to communicate what she wanted, Prudence fortunately understanding this and picking her up, placing her on her lap, Gloriana outstretching her arms towards the young witch as Prudence helped her stand on her lap, keeping hold of Gloriana by the waist as the babe leant forwards and looped her arms around her sister's throat in a loose hold, attempting a hug as Prudence slowly and gently wrapped her arms around the tiny child's upper body, returning the hug. 

As the door to the warded room was knocked on with the agreed upon knock and then opened, Zelda and Faustus entered, Faustus with an arm around Zelda's as they walked, watching the scene for a moment before Gloriana looked round and let out a delighted baby-voiced cry of 'Mama', trying to move off of Prudence’s lap in one swift motion, obviously not able to do this in any way and wobbling as she leant back from where she'd been hugging her sister, Prudence still holding onto her and gently helping her off her lap, placing her next to her and watching as Gloriana slowly crawled towards her parents, who met her half way, Faustus lifting Gloriana into his arms and giving her a kiss before handing her to Zelda, who held her daughter close, breathing her in as the baby rested her left temple against her mother's shoulder, the woman stroking her daughter’s hair with one hand as she held her tight, glancing down at the babe with a small loving smile on her lips as she asked the 1-year-old if she'd been good, Gloriana nodding her head and chirping, "'Es! Good!", in her adorable, baby voice, Zelda chuckling as she smiled, Faustus giving his eldest daughter a nod of thanks for watching her sister before they turned to leave, Vinegar Tom hot on their heels as they walked back to Faustus's office, Hilda walking behind them as she left for the Spellman House and the teens reluctantly began cleaning up the tea set, vacating the room not long afterwards. 

* * *

Saturday afternoon came and went and soon it was dark outside, the Blackwoods sitting in the living room of the Spellman home as Hilda and Dr. Cee made dinner, Zelda rolling her eyes and giving Faustus a pointed look as Dr. Cee made a joke and Hilda laughed, testing the sauce that was meant to go with the chicken. Seeing this Faustus arched an eyebrow and turned back to Zelda, the pair sharing a look of irritation at the couple's lovey dovey attitude as Ambrose remained in the morgue below inspecting the latest body that had been brought to them and Sabrina was out with Nick, Prudence being at the Academy for some reason or another. 

"Honestly, how tedious..." Drawled Zelda as Faustus tapped the handle of his cane with painted nails, responding 

"I can't abide the incubus, I'm unsure which is worse, the fact we believed him to be a mortal beforehand or the truth of what he is." 

Zelda let out a small noise of agreement at this, hearing Gloriana let out a squeak of what sounded like upset seconds later, both parents turning their heads, seeing their daughter sitting on the floor and reaching out towards the table in front of her. 

Tilting her head Zelda asked, "What are you doing, Gloriana?", in a curious voice, the mother and father watching as the babe let out a squeak and reached out towards the table again before saying 

'"Ee!" 

This leaving both man and wife confused for a moment before Zelda asked 

"Do you ... do you want to be on the table?" 

Gloriana simply letting out another squeak in reply, this time sounding frustrated as she said ''Ee' again, her face turning pink as she began to cry tears of annoyance at not getting or being able to fully communicate what she wanted. 

Hilda and Dr. Cee turned their heads at the noise and Zelda stood up, going over to Gloriana whilst saying 

"It's ok, sweet girl, it's ok" 

The expectant mother carefully and safely bending down, picking Gloriana up and watching as she reached out towards the table and kicked one of her legs down towards the ground. That was when the penny dropped and Zelda asked, slowly easing herself down so that she could kneel by the table and watching as the infant reached out and kicked once more 

"Do you want to stand up?" A tentative curiosity in her voice as she spoke, "Alright, let's try it." 

As Faustus leaned forward in his seat so he could get a better view, Zelda gently placed Gloriana on the floor, keeping hold of her by her waist as the little girl stood with her legs straight, the baby reaching out her arms and holding the edge of the table, standing up properly for the first time whilst in her mother's secure hold, the baby letting out a crow of delight as she looked at her mother and beamed, Zelda smiling at this and saying, “Very good”, before glancing back over her shoulder at Faustus, the man having allowed a small smile of pride at the scene to slip onto his lips. 

Zelda turned her head attention back to Gloriana moments later upon feeling her try to move from her grip, finding the baby attempting to shuffle along the side of the table with no success, Zelda pulling her back into her arms before asking 

"What are you trying to do?" A frown appearing on her face for a second before she asked, "Are you trying to walk?", the woman feeling a little out of breath from crouching down on the ground for too long and taking a moment to compose herself before saying, "Shall we ask your father to help you, Mama needs to rest ... Faustus, if you-" 

She stopped half way through her sentence as Faustus stood up and took Gloriana from her, pressing a kiss to her cheek before saying 

"You sit down and take a break, wife, myself and Gloriana can give walking a try." 

Gloriana sucked her thumb and glanced down at the floor as Faustus rested her against his hip, the man bending down to set her on the ground, holding her with his hands against her hips as he gently placed her on the floor, making sure she stood upright steadily with his help before slowly removing one hand from her waist and taking her hand in his, following on to do the same action with his other hand whilst making sure she remained safely upright. 

"I'm going to stand up now, Gloriana, you keep hold of my hands." He said, slowly standing up behind her, bending over so that he could hold her upright and keep her directly in front of him. As the tiny girl stood on wobbly legs, the man continued, "Let's go, shall we?", slowly shuffling a foot forwards behind her in a way that would make her move her foot forwards as well, Gloriana doing so on wobbly legs. 

Zelda smiled as she sat in her chair, watching the look of concentration on Gloriana's face as she shuffled one foot in front of the other, being encouraged forwards ever so slowly by her father and mimicking him as he told her to move one foot and then the other, the intense look of determination both Faustus and Gloriana wore causing her heart to ache with love as she looked on. 

"You're doing hellishly, Gloriana, clever girl." Zelda said, using the word hellish in the way most witches and warlocks used it - by way of expressing a level of brilliance. 

Gloriana didn't reply, looking up at her father with a mildly panicked expression on her face as she wobbled slightly, letting out a worried sound, Faustus squeezing her little hands in support and telling her to keep going, the babe taking a couple more steps before a smile formed on her face as she looked at her feet, letting out a happy gurgle before saying 

"'Ee!" 

"That's right, Gloriana, you're walking, look at that!" Zelda said with proud eyes as she briefly clapped, Hilda and Dr, Cee looking round as they heard the goings on, Hilda beaming as she saw what was happening. 

"Look at you! You're walking! Well done." The bubbly blonde said cheerily, clapping her hands in joy. 

"I think you may be the best walker I've ever seen." Chimed in Dr. Cee, Zelda rolling her eyes half-heartedly at his words, not letting his false declaration ruin the moment, knowing deep down that he was only trying to be helpful. 

As Gloriana grew tired she leant back against her father's legs, still holding onto his hands, and Faustus picked her up, resting her against his hip as he kissed her forehead and whispered words of praise to the girl before walking over to the chair he'd been sat in before, resting her on his lap as she curled up against his chest, sucking her thumb as she rested after her excursion. 

Sharing a smile with his wife Faustus gave her a look before leaning in, capturing Zelda's lips in his, Zelda's eyes fluttering shut as she took in the sensation, kissing him back with an underlying passion as Faustus deepened the kiss, pushing his hand into her hair before pulling away, looking at Zelda with an intensity in his gaze, his blue eyes fixed on her as a gentle smile formed on his lips, Zelda looking back at him with a similar intensity, the pair still transfixed by each other even after all the years of their tumultuous relationship. Unspoken pride of what they had become was in Faustus's eyes, a pride over their relationship, a pride over their daughter, and a pride over having Zelda as his wife entwined with a feeling of possession, ownership and a sincere affection, Zelda looking back at him with mirrored emotions. 

As Dr. Cee let out a small cough to make his presence known both man and woman turned their heads sharply in his direction, exasperation on Faustus's face as Zelda scowled, snapping, “What is it?'”, at him as the man swallowed hard and informed them dinner was ready. Faustus standing up and placing the now sleeping Gloriana down in her dark brown wooden cot, knowing they'd feed her later, Zelda slowly pushing herself up from her chair, placing a hand to her lower back as she moved, stumbling and reaching back to take hold of the back of her chair as she faltered. 

"You ok, Auntie?" Asked Ambrose as he entered the room, Zelda taking a breath before nodding, Faustus moving to take her arm before Zelda waved him off, the man taking a few steps back and hanging by as Zelda opened her eyes, her sudden dizziness settling as she began to slowly walk towards the table once more. 

As everyone except Sabrina and Prudence joined at the table, Hilda lifted a lid on one of the white and blue Wedgewood serving dishes, picking up a serving spoon in order to distribute the food, everything going well until she opened the small dish with carrots done in herbs and honey seated inside, Zelda catching the scent of them and placing a hand to her mouth, instantly ordering her sister to shut the lid, everyone's eyes going to the Matriarch as she said this, Hilda hastily shutting the lid back down over the carrots, Zelda taking a slow breath as she felt her stomach twist with nausea. 

"You ok, Zelds?" Asked Hilda, "Are you feeling-" 

"I'm fine." Began Zelda, slowly removing her hand from where it had been hovering in front of her mouth, opening her eyes once more as the nausea wore off, "Though if we have the carrots, I won't be." 

Taking another breath, the woman swallowed hard as Hilda nodded, saying it was fine and that she'd cast a preservation spell on them so that the family could have them when Zelda and Faustus were working late at the Academy as they tended to do. Zelda nodded at this, and dinner was begun a few moments later, the dish of carrots abandoned on the kitchen counter as they ate. 

* * *

Several days later bath time was underway, a small bath of bubbles and warm water tested with an elbow to make sure it wasn't too hot having been drawn in the clawfoot tub of the bathroom situated in the High Priest and Lady's Blackwood's Academy rooms, Gloriana seated in the bath as Zelda sat on a stool by the tub. The baby had soap suds in her hair and as her mother leaned in, blowing the bubbles off her tiny fist Gloriana giggled, splashing the water with her free hand. With a smile Zelda told Gloriana to 'sit right there' in the water as she kept hold of her with one a hand to make sure she was safe before turning her head and calling for her husband to pass her Gloriana's towel. 

In the bedroom Faustus looked up from where he was working at a desk by the window and put his pen down, resting the expensive fountain pen in its holder before standing and pushing his chair in, unbuttoning his shirt cuffs as he entered the bathroom, rolling up his sleeves and grabbing the fluffy white towel from where it was sitting on the cabinet on the other side of the room, moving over to the bath and lifting Gloriana out of the water, wrapping her up in the big towel and cradling her in his arms as he looked down at her, gently rocking her as Zelda mumbled two separate incantations to remove the plug from the bath and tidy everything away, slowly lifting herself up off the stool and steadying herself as she felt lightheaded. 

Exiting the bathroom Faustus held Gloriana, walking slowly around the bedroom with her in his arms, talking to her in a quiet tone as candles flickered and Zelda entered from where she’d been. As Faustus rocked Gloriana and took careful steps he told her how good she'd been today, saying how proud he was of her and how clever she was, affectionately tapping her nose and causing her to coo as he continued to rock her, ensuring she remained all cosy and bundled up in the soft towel. 

When Gloriana had been taken he'd been devastated. Broken. He'd only just been returned to his daughter after his time in the Witch's Cell and then she had gone, he hadn't known how to respond, he'd been furious, shell shocked, and had at one point cast a testing spell to reveal any curses that may have been placed on him, finding none and not being sure what answer he’d been hoping for. Every hour she had been gone had been excruciating, and he'd felt hopeless, like less of a man because he'd let his child be taken. When he'd ventured into The Flames of Prometheus, he'd been terrified he would never come out, never get to her in time ... if he was able to at all, and as he'd reached her, he'd been overwhelmed, worried to let her go for fear she would be lost to them once more. 

As he held her in his arms and walked over to Zelda, he cast a drying charm on his daughter and laid her down against the changing mat, Zelda gently applying talcum powder to the babe's skin, a contented silence falling between the mother and father as they cherished this moment, Gloriana's soft coos the only audible noise as Zelda changed her into a clean diaper and slipped her into her nightdress. Whilst his wife did up the buttons to the dress the man picked up their baby's pink bristle baby brush and ran it through her hair, brushing the damp curls as Zelda placed her daughter's bracelet back onto her wrist. Usually, he would refrain from doing such work he deemed a nanny or woman worthy of doing, but as he brushed Gloriana's curls he felt calm, and rested the brush back down where he had found it as Zelda picked up their sleepy daughter, walking over to the rocking chair by the fire and slowly easing herself down into sitting, talking to her daughter in a quiet voice, smiling down at her and kissing her curls as Faustus poured himself a whiskey and took a sip, watching the scene before him. 

Peace fell upon the Academy dorm and the family inside it not long after Gloriana was out of her bath. But how long would that peace last? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	4. Loveseats, Clairvoyants and Poetry.

The Academy dining hall was full as the lunch hour fell upon the Church of Lilith, tables were bustling with students and laughter echoed around the hall as teenagers spoke, shared jokes and teasingly berated each other. Obviously, there were some of the quieter students trying to study in between mouthfuls of school dinners, but the majority of them took the free hour between classes as an opportunity to catch up with friends, competitively debate subjects, discuss their love life and generally have a well-earned rest from scribbling information down in notebooks. Prudence, Sabrina, Nick, Agatha and Dorcas shared a table, analytically discussing Father Blackwood's latest lecture, and on the other side of the hall sitting with the rest of the teachers, Zelda and Faustus sat at one end of a long oak table, faces close as they had a seemingly intense discussion over something that ended when a voice broke into their conversation, Zelda turning her head to see who'd dared interrupt her and the point she was making to see a face she hadn't seen before. 

The woman in front of her wore a modest pale blue dress a la the 1940s style, it was calf length, had a natural waist, short capped sleeves and a simple collar, the colour of blue of the garment matching the women eyes and complimenting her shoulder length jet black curly hair. The shade of red she wore on her lips however was much too bright, slightly clown like, and Zelda arched an eyebrow at her as she asked 

"Excuse me, sorry, is there room here? The other end of the table is full." 

Giving the woman a once over, Zelda queried, her posture straightening 

"And who might you be?" 

Faustus surprising her as he informed her that the newcomer was the replacement for Shirley Jackson. 

"Is that right?" Answered Zelda, composing a fake smile onto her lips as she looked towards the apparent new staff member, silently deciding what to make of her. 

"It is, I'm Miss Fettiplace, but everyone's already started calling me by my first name, which is Ellia. Pleased to meet you." Said the woman, who was all smiles as she spoke, her tone far too cheery for someone who had an afternoon of classes and brand-new-pupils ahead of her. 

Zelda paused for a moment, looking at the new girl before asking, "How come I wasn't informed of your arrival?", her tone dropping an octave as she continued to watch Ellia with a fixed gaze. 

She didn't like this. She didn't like this at all. A new teacher arriving … and a very _very_ pretty new teacher arriving at that? One who was coming to take over an old staff member's job with a bit too much vigour? It reminded her of the way she and Faustus had started up again ... with her taking over Constance's jobs whilst she'd been indisposed... and they all knew how that had ended up... with a rekindled romance and secrets. She may have been seeming rude with how she was responding to the new woman, may have been appearing too standoffish, but in reality, she was the thing she hated being most - she was scared. She hated feeling defenceless and fearful, the sensation it gave her and the feeling of weakness never suited her, they distressed her, made her feel ill, made her feel small, weak and powerless, and more often than not being scared made her angry, the anger being her salvaged attempt at protecting herself. Whenever Hilda helped her, she felt scared she was losing her appearance of strength in front of those she loved, whenever Sabrina went off on one of her hero complex quests or rants, she grew scared that she wouldn't be able to protect her or that she hadn't done a good enough job at raising her to be both fierce _and_ logical, whenever Gloriana cried she became scared something was wrong and she wouldn't be able to fix it, when Dr. Cee was around she felt scared he would take Hilda from her, and when Faustus was in the company of another beautiful woman like that which stood before him, she became scared he would choose to move on from her. Yes, Zelda Spellman could appear cold, blunt, rude, brash, insensitive and much more, and sometimes she was those things, but deep down the vast majority of that outer shell ... almost all in fact ... was a defence mechanism built from betrayal, loss and hurt, her attitude was a wall she had built up to protect herself, a wall that often led to her being misunderstood by those around her and thought of as something she wasn't. At this moment, she felt worried, she felt possessive, and she felt vulnerable, so she was doing what she usually did when feeling threatened... she was striking first. 

"Don't look so serious, wife," broke in Faustus with a mild sternness to his voice in response to Zelda's question about why she'd not been told of Ellia's arrival, "I informed you of Miss Fettiplace coming to join us the other week, you missed her this morning because you were too sick to attend the staff meeting." 

"Father Blackwood was very kind to me, he helped me gather everyone's attention when I tried to introduce myself, and when I faltered with my words, he urged me to go on and I'm so glad I did because the staff here are so lovely now I've spoken to them all, I'd have been too nervous to do so had your husband not suggested I say something in the meeting." Smiled Ellia, turning to Faustus and blushing. 

As Zelda looked between Faustus and Ellia her body tensed, eyes narrowing, wedding bands shining in the light as Ellia sat down next to them, touching Faustus's arm and smiling as she bowed her head, voice soft as she met the High Priest's gaze and said

"You made my start here so easy, Father, thank you." 

Faustus looking at Ellia for a moment before saying it was fine, that it was simply his duty to ensure all staff were welcomed appropriately, a slight smile flickering across his lips as the blue eyed, pale skinned young slip of a thing laughed at that, saying he was doing an excellent job before beginning to take a bite of her lunch, Zelda watching her every move with a tight grip on her steak knife as Ellia sat a little too close to her husband, the woman going over the number of curses she could cast on the overly eager eye roll inducer before the day was out, getting up to 22 as the bell rang to signal the end of lunch and ultimately casting a whispered bad luck spell on the teacher so that the rest of her day would be full of little inconveniences that, if Zelda was lucky, could quite possibly prove fatal. 

* * *

Hilda Spellman held her niece in her arms, resting her against her hip and rocking her up and down in a gentle fashion as she looked out of the bedroom window at the Academy, having been watching Gloriana whilst Zelda and Faustus had lessons this afternoon. It had been going well, Gloriana had pulled herself upright against the table twice (once with help and once on her own) peekaboo had been played with Gloriana giggling as Hilda oh-so-obviously hid behind her hands, a nap had been taken with minimal fuss and they'd spent the last 20 minutes with the bubbly blonde crocheting a new scarf whilst Gloriana had sat on her playmat and unmelodiously bashed at a toy xylophone, Hilda finally managing to drag her away from the toy to do a spot of bird watching, holding her in her arms as they looked outside. 

Well, _Hilda_ looked outside, Gloriana simply rested her head against her aunt's chest and sucked her thumb. As Hilda watched a robin on one of the feeders she'd put up a few weeks ago, she heard Gloriana make noise that was half a babble and half a squeak, looking down at her and following her gaze to see a squirrel close by the window. 

"Oh, look at that, Gloriana. A squirrel!" Smiled Hilda encouragingly, "Clever girl for letting me know, isn't it beautiful?" She asked rhetorically, kissing Gloriana's hair before turning her gaze back to the window, watching for a moment before the creature scurried up a tree and out of view, their sudden departure causing Gloriana to begin to wail and Vinegar Tom to jump off Zelda's chair with a bark as he scurried over protectively. "Shhh, shhh, Gloriana it's alright, the squirrel'll be back. Shush, Vinegar Tom, no need to bark everything's fine... good boy, you go back to the chair now." Said Hilda as she rocked Gloriana and watched as her sister's familiar turned round to leave them and go back to sleep after checking out the window to make sure all was well. 

As Gloriana quietened down and reached out to take hold of the charm at the end of the long necklace her aunt was wearing (intending to put it in her mouth and being distracted by Hilda so that her wish wouldn't end up being the case) Zelda made her way to her husband's office, her heels clicking against the floor as she moved, the black dress she was wearing, with its below knee length pencil skirt, sleeves that came to a stop a few inches away from the wrist, high neckline with a little trail of buttons and built in maternity panel courtesy of Hilda, made her look as elegant as ever as she reached up with a gold bejewelled hand to run her fingers through her half-up half-down hairstyle with the victory rolls, her red lips set in a frown as she appeared deep in thought. 

From above the slight crumbling of one of the gargoyles wasn’t visible as it shifted from its perch, and as Zelda moved to pass under it, she was unaware of it toppling from high up and falling, not seeing it hurtle through the air down towards her with a seemingly fixed end point in sight, the end point being Zelda herself. 

It was by luck that she was out of the way in time, walking faster than she would have been due to running a little over in her last lesson. As she stepped out of the statue's war path she kept going, hearing the smash of it on the floor moments later and spinning round. Pausing as she saw the remnants of rubble on the floor, the smashed gargoyle lying exactly where she’d been standing mere seconds ago, she paused, body rigid, skin tingling, eyes wide as she pressed the book she had been carrying to her chest, her fingers splayed against the cover as she took in the scene. Deciding to inspect the situation, she took a few steps closer to the destroyed gargoyle, moving one of the chunks of rubble with the toe of her heel curiously and looking up, glancing around in an attempt to find the culprit. 

She didn't see the bouncing black curls or hear the heeled shoes against the floor as the aggressor moved away, and a feeling of heaviness settled into her chest as she backed away from the statue's remains. She could be overthinking, it was a habit of hers, the only habit she kept, but something about this rubbed her the wrong way, and as she headed towards her husband's office, she ran over the possibilities of what could have just happened and more importantly _why_ it had happened, it could just be an accident, but then again ... it could also be something else. 

* * *

Faustus had been worried over the occurrence with the gargoyle when she told him, grabbing her by the shoulders in a white-knuckle grip as he asked her to tell him exactly what had happened in detail, his face turning pale as she spoke. He'd ordered her to stay in his office whilst he went to inspect the statue, dismissing her when she said she could go with him and telling her to remain where he said in order to keep both herself and the baby safe before he headed off to go over the scene, finding nothing of import and, as such, nothing to go on, settling for placing a reinforcement spell on the rest of the statues and telling his wife to remain away from them, Zelda falling quiet as he'd told her he'd fear for her safety if not, pausing for a few seconds before nodding her agreement at the action. 

Now it was a week later and Zelda left the office of the High Priest, running a hand through her hair to smooth it before pulling out a pocket mirror to refresh her lipstick, rebuttoning the top two buttons of her pale blue silk blouse after putting the mirror and Chanel tube back in her black pencil skirt pocket. Taking a couple of steps forward she heard her name called, turning her head to see her niece and greeting her momentarily before asking if she was alright, seeing how antsy she appeared. 

"I'm fine Aunt Zee, I just need to show you something." Answered Sabrina. 

"Can it not wait? I have to prep the next choir-" 

"No, Auntie, it can't, I have to show you it now." Urged the teen, looking back over her shoulder to check something. 

"Sabrina, are you sure you're alright?" Asked Zelda, concern for her niece's welfare in her mind as she saw how the girl was behaving, noticing her nervous tapping of her hand against her hip and her slightly too wide smile. 

"Yeah, I'm fine." The blonde stated, brushing off her concern with a cheery tone, taking her aunt's arm and proceeding to walk, "I just need you to come with me." 

Accepting this, brow furrowed, Zelda walked with her niece, heading down a corridor and up the stairs before turning back towards the dorm area of the Academy, the elder witch's queries of what exactly she needed to be shown and why in heaven they were going back to the dorms falling on deaf ears, being given an excuse of 'you'll see, just come with me' as Sabrina walked a few more steps before pushing open the door to the expansive dorm of the High Priest and Lady Blackwood. 

As they entered Zelda saw a large table set up in the centre of the room, a duck egg blue table cloth, white vintage tea set, cake stand with little cupcakes on one side and a tray of Hilda's famous homemade scones on the other displayed neatly on top of it. A small pile of presents was sitting on a display table at the side of the room, the gramophone was playing Bach and as Zelda looked around she saw Hilda with Gloriana in her arms, Prudence, and a handful of other female staff members standing nearby as she arched an eyebrow, asking a few beats later 

"What’s all this?" 

Her delayed response being laughed off by her peers and loved ones as Sabrina excitedly said 

"It's your unholy baby shower!" 

Prudence moving forwards and saying, 

"You didn't have one last time so we decided to surprise you, Mother Blackwood." 

Zelda was shocked. Of all the things she'd been expecting this wasn't it, she hadn't believed it would be anything like this, she'd thought Sabrina was having an issue and needed to speak to someone privately, she'd been touched that her niece had come to her for advice, and now as she stood, the feeling of surprise setting in, she looked from the table back to her family with a slow gaze, her mouth ever so slightly open as one of the staff members teased that they'd finally stunned the great Lady Blackwood, gentle laughter coming from a few of the women surrounding her, a smile forming on Hilda's face as she gestured for her sister to come join them, Zelda feeling Prudence take her arm and stepping forwards with her as Sabrina joined Hilda. 

Soon tea had been poured, chatter had been had, cakes and scones had been eaten and a couple of presents (a baby spoon with a crescent moon at the top of the handle and a small cuddly black cat toy) had been received, the sound of chatter filling the room as Prudence said something to Sabrina that made her narrow her eyes, Hilda spoke to Miss Fettiplace, and the other female members of staff chattered amongst themselves. Zelda sat with Gloriana sucking on Toy Tom's ear whilst seated on her lap, the real Vinegar Tom lying at his witch's feet in a comfy black bed like the good boy he was, and upon hearing her name mentioned she looked up to see Miss Kirby smiling at her as she asked when she was due. 

Miss Kirby was a kind faced woman with grey hair tied in a braid that spilled down over her shoulder and a cloche hat on her head, a faded and old yet well-fitting dress was on her body, made up with a broach and fancy buttons to try and fool those around her into thinking the garment wasn't as worn out as it was. Zelda liked her, although she was rather older than the rest of them by 150 years she always got her work done, and she'd never taken any nonsense from anyone despite her kind disposition. On her hip she wore a small linen sack with old bones in it, bones which had been gifted to her by her great grandmother and were said to be able to tell the future if shown, despite the fact that Miss Kirby never made any claims to be any kind of seer or fortune teller and simply said she would tell what the bones had told her if she was asked or felt it necessary.

"7 months away." Zelda replied in response to the question of her due date, stroking the hair of Gloriana as she gurgled. 

"7 months..." Said Miss Kirby with a lightness to her tone, "Not very long to go then, not by the way time flies around here anyway." 

"Yes." Zelda agreed with a little nod, glancing down towards Gloriana as she felt her drop 'Toy Tom', reaching down to her lap and handing the babe the toy once more. 

"You have a beautiful daughter, Lady Blackwood." Smiled the woman, and Zelda smiled a little too, pride in her voice as she agreed, listening as Miss Kirby continued, "Very powerful as well, with abilities much stronger than other witches." 

With a slight narrowing of her eyes in curiosity over how Miss Kirby knew this Zelda paused before remembering that the coven knew about what the ex-Dark Lord had said to her in regard to her then-unborn-baby. 

_"This child must be taken, for it will have powers unmatched by others."_

He'd been fearful Gloriana would overpower him one day, and had tried to kill her in the womb and take the fertility Zelda had promised him when Sabrina had come to them many years ago, however that plan had been usurped by Lilith and now the delusional fallen angel was gone. 

"Don't look so worried, Lady Blackwood, I'm only saying what I heard and what I know." Chuckled Miss Kirby, touching the woman's arm and leaning forward to Gloriana, stroking her cheek in affection as Zelda's arms tightened around her daughter just to be on the safe side, the woman not trusting anyone who wasn't family to get too close to the babe. 

As Miss Kirby touched Gloriana's cheek she let out a shallow breath, and her eyes widened as she looked at the child, images flashing through her mind foretelling what Gloriana would become. As the visions faded, she removed her hand and gave the child a wary look as Zelda asked 

"Agnes, are you alright?" 

Miss Kirby pausing for a moment before allowing a relaxed expression to cast itself across her face, the woman nodding and saying 

"I'm fine, dear... just fine." Glancing back over to Gloriana she smiled softly before saying, "You've got a very brave, strong little girl there, one day she'll do great things... things greater than we know now." 

Meeting Agnes Kirby's gaze Zelda shared a look with her for a moment before briefly nodding her acknowledgement of this. 

"And you my dear," Agnes continued, her voice dropping to a whisper so that Zelda had to lean in to hear what she said, "You should keep an eye out for trouble, for things are not what they seem." 

Swallowing hard Zelda looked up at the woman, her body stiffening as she met her gaze once more. She'd never believed in clairvoyants, deeming them to be overreaching trouble makers grasping at straws and loose phrases that could apply to anything, she'd only listened to Miss Kirby speak of Gloriana because she knew what the Dark Lord had said to be true, even though he had been the prince of lies the subject he had foretold them of was undoubtedly starting to come to pass what with how powerful her daughter was already appearing to be. Agnes's off hand unwarranted comment towards her own circumstances however... it annoyed her, it irritated her that the woman she had a soft spot was trying to ply her trade of suspicion and stories when Zelda had always tried to push that part of the woman to the back of her mind when they interacted. 

"I think we'll allow time to be the judge of that, Agnes." Zelda remarked, a hint of haughtiness in her tone as she spoke, and Agnes looked at her knowingly for a moment before giving her a small smile and saying 

"Of course, dear." 

As Zelda began to speak to one of her fellow staff members (Miss Hardstark - History of Incantations teacher) she heard her name called and turned her head after excusing herself from the conversation, seeing Miss Hallow looking at her from over her teacup. 

"Yes, Jolene?" Asked Zelda as Hilda turned to Prudence and Sabrina upon hearing them squabble, her younger sister’s attention soon going back to Miss Kilgariff and their shared laughter. 

"I was just thinking... having 2 babies under 2... that's going to be difficult, did you not think you should wait?" Spoke Miss Hallow with a catty tone to her words, the woman knowing exactly what she was doing, Zelda visibly brisling and icily responding with a sharp clipped tone that it hadn't exactly been planned. 

"Not that that's any of your business." She finished; her expression stormy as she looked at the woman with a severity to her gaze. 

Hilda turned from the conversation she was having and tried to catch Zelda's eye, managing to do so fleetingly before Jolene asked

"Oh, so it just happened? But with you being 6 months along it must have happened whilst your daughter was missing." With a smug look and a setting down of her teacup she continued, "How exactly did you manage feel the desire to be intimate with our High Priest when your baby was missing? You must not have been very grief stricken." 

Rage flashed through Zelda, did it not occur to the woman that she and her husband may have slept together whilst their daughter was missing by way of taking a moment for themselves, by way of distracting themselves from their constant fear and worry and by way of feeling a break in the gloom as they clung to each other in their darkest hour? 

As she riled and went to fight her corner, a dangerous glimmer in her eyes as she opened her mouth to cast a spell, Hilda tried to calm Sabrina and Prudence as the pair began raising their voices in Jolene's direction, the atmosphere changing from happy and calm to balancing on a knife edge like the flick of a switch. 

"How dare you!" Came a voice from across the table. All eyes turning to see Ellia standing up as she stated, "Do you not hear how insensitive you're being? What Lady Blackwood and our High Priest were feeling or doing is none of our business nor is it a subject for debate!" 

"She's right," Voiced Hilda, standing up and moving to take hold of Jolene Hallow's arm to pull her upright, the woman beginning to make fuss until Zelda fired a silencing spell at her, causing her lips to slam shut as Hilda pulled her upright and dragged her to the door, opening it and pushing her through it with a clipped statement of, "Out." 

The door closing shut behind the woman as Hilda turned back to face the flushed cheeked members of the small group of women before suggesting 

"Shall we continue with presents?" 

A murmur of approval going through the group as Sabrina urged her aunt to open her gift first, Zelda glancing towards Miss Fettiplace, who gave her a little smile, the strawberry blonde looking thoughtful, her gaze still on Ellia as Hilda gently took Gloriana from her and Sabrina handed her the gift she'd bought, her attention being drawn away from the new staff member as she looked towards her niece. 

* * *

As Zelda sat in one of the rooms she and Faustus lived in at the Academy she held Gloriana on her lap in the rocking chair, the infant resting against her mother's swollen stomach and sucking her thumb as she was read to. The dorm was quiet except for the crackling of a fire in the grate, the scratching of a pen from Faustus in the other room as he worked, and the gentle breathing of Vinegar Tom curled up on his velvet pillow as he rested upon the chaise lounge. From outside the occasional footsteps of students making their way to their dorm sounded, the odd burst of giggles or loud chatter could be heard and as Lady Blackwood gently moved the rocking chair back and forth in a slow motion, she felt Gloriana begin to droop in her arms as she began to grow sleepy, the scent of her daughter's freshly washed hair and skin mingling with her natural baby scent causing her heart to ache with affection for her little girl. 

Glancing down as she was about to read the last words of the poem they were on, Zelda saw Gloriana's eyes beginning to flutter and her grip on 'Toy Tom' loosen, glancing back up at the page as she began to say the final lines of a poem from the collection of poetry she had bought Faustus for his birthday a couple of months ago, her voice quiet as she spoke the lines to her infant daughter, 

"And Reason, said to Silence, "Silence, what do you hear?" And Silence said, "I hear the sound of marching feet. I hear them marching a thousand times, tens of thousands and they beat the way." They are the feet of those that shall follow you. Lead on." 

The poignant story choice was all part of Zelda's attempt at educating her daughter both academically and emotionally. If she could help her to think critically about the world, to question injustice, set an example, to know her own mind and worth alongside her being able to study and show academic talent then in her view she would have done a good job, because what was the point of continuing on if you weren't well rounded? She knew Faustus felt the same in regard to wanting to bring their daughter up to be brilliant, hence why she had been pleased by his approval of her reading a poem from his birthday present to the little one before bed time. 

Setting the book to one side Zelda lifted Gloriana up into her arms as she stood, the 1-year-old yawning and spreading her fingers like starfish upon being carried, her mother whispering that it was time for bed and slowly going over to one of the cots they had placed around their dorm rooms (having put one in each room) with her in her arms, shushing her lovingly as she began to fuss a little before drifting off to sleep all dressed in her bonnet and nightdress, Zelda placing her down gently and setting 'Toy Tom' in the corner of the crib by her feet so that she could still see him. Cupping her daughter's face with her hand she smiled down at her before turning to the real Vinegar Tom and telling him to watch her as she headed through the doorway that connected one room to the other, knowing all the windows in the room were locked and that the highest level of protective wards were up as she left the room and walked over to the two seater loveseat that was situated on the other side of the desk across from where Faustus was working, the man seated in his Chesterfield armchair, Zelda crossing her legs at the ankle and watching him with no expectations for a few seconds, taking in the frown of concentration on his face as he wrote something with the scratchy fountain pen of his, the black ink he was using standing out dramatically on the white parchment.

As Faustus put his pen down in its holder moments later and stood up, asking if she wanted a drink and accepting her nodded response, Zelda leant forwards in her seat, her arms resting before her on the desk as she peered at her husband's work, her hands clasped as Faustus made his way over to the drinks cabinet and poured two glasses of red wine, one being non-alcoholic of course, the woman moving her arms back across the desk a few inches, her back arching slightly as she saw him cross the room towards her, her golden hair shining in the lamp light as he placed her drink beside her, Zelda picking it up and taking a sip as he sat next to her, the man unbuttoning his shirt collar and placing an arm around her lower back, the pair sitting in silence for a few minutes. 

"Your niece decided that today was a good day to attempt to disrupt my lesson on grounds of boy trouble." Faustus began, Zelda tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she disappointedly took this in and spoke, sincerity in her words as she remained with her gaze focused straight ahead 

"I'll talk to her, in your next lesson she won't be so impertinent, I'll make sure of it." 

The witch taking another sip of her wine before setting her glass back on the table, Faustus setting his glass down next to hers and taking her hand in his before leaning in and saying in a tone that suggested there were to be no arguments 

"I hope so." 

Zelda glancing over at her husband, meeting his gaze as she stated firmly 

"I _will_ handle it." 

The black haired man looking at her for a moment as if considering the merit in her words before nodding briefly, the matter being deemed closed as Zelda fell quiet, resting a hand to her stomach. 

After a few minutes of silence Zelda picked up her drink, taking a sip of her wine before standing up, saying she should go and speak to Sabrina whilst she had time, moving to leave and having her hand grabbed by Faustus as he stood up, the woman turning her head and glancing down at their entwined hand before looking up at her husband, turning her body to face him once more as he told her not to leave just yet, taking hold of her free hand with his own so that he was holding both as he stepped forwards, pressing his lips against hers and moving her so that she was placed between him and the desk, Zelda looping her arms around the man's throat as she returned the kiss, a subtle heat spreading through the pair as they continued this action, Zelda's breath catching in her throat as Faustus wrapped his arms just above her expanded waist, pressing his hands hard against her back as he dragged them across it, an airy gasp escaping Zelda's lips, the mix of pain and pleasure as he roughly dragged his hands across her back, his nails digging in slightly, flooding her with adrenaline, Zelda moving her hands from where they were resting behind his head so that her fingers could gently caress his throat, the woman digging her fingertips into the skin and taking her husband's lower lip between her teeth, biting down hard, Faustus letting out a moan of pleasure at the action, feeling his blood set alight with arousal. 

As they pulled away for air, their foreheads pressed against each other, Faustus felt his breath return to normal after a few moments and Zelda took a few shaky breaths before swallowing hard, trying to steady her breathing, panting a little in an attempt to fill her lungs, a wave of pain in her chest making itself known as she shut her eyes, Faustus touching her cheek as he asked if she was alright, Zelda nodding and saying 

"I... I'm not feeling very well... give me a few minutes." 

Faustus nodding and saying he'd refresh their drinks, heading back over to the drinks cabinet with their glasses in order to top them up. 

Zelda leant back against the table, gripping the edge with her hands as she took another faltering breath, the feeling of discomfort in her chest expanding into her lungs and causing her to grip the table tighter as she let out a sharp breath, continuing to pant and feeling her lungs refuse to fill with air completely, her legs going weak beneath her and causing her to lower herself to the floor, her breathing beginning to go raspy as she ran a hand up into her hair and rested her palm against her forehead, mentally trying to reassure herself she was fine and that everything would be ok as she felt the stabbing sensation in her chest deepen and her lungs begin to burn. Leaning forwards onto her hands she continued to pant shallowly, screwing her eyes shut as she tried to compose herself, struggling to take deep breaths as the pain radiated higher into her lungs and deeper into her heart. Putting a shaking hand to her mouth she let out a small moan, Faustus looking up from where he'd been topping up the wine and fixing them something extra and seeing Zelda on the floor clearly in distress, dropping what he was doing instantly, the sound of glass smashing filling the air as the bottle he'd been holding shattered on the floor, the man rushing over to his wife with a fearful cry of, “Zelda!”, the woman in question placing a trembling hand against her aching chest as she falteringly gasped for air, coming up empty. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this on my birthday - I hate birthdays so if anyone wants to wish me one I'd prefer if you left a comment about the fic down in the comments section, thanks! 🖤
> 
> The words Zelda reads to Gloriana are an edited version of a quote from a book metioned in the film Suffragette.


	5. Forests, Falling and Frustration.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a scene of a sexual nature in it so don't read in public or around family ... not that most of us go outside or see other people much anymore due to the pandemic anyway. Also there is a description of a car accident in the final scene, so if that's a trigger to you don't read after Faustus and Zelda's discussion, I can always outline what happened for you if you ask in the comments.

As Zelda struggled for air the pain in her chest grew unbearable, a stabbing sensation throbbed in her lungs and pierced her heart as it pulsated through her chest in excruciating shockwaves, her eyes were wide as she knelt forwards on the floor, one quivering arm leant straight against the floorboards being the only thing keeping her upright as she held a shuddering hand against her chest, her breathing coming out in weak gasps as she fought for air against her slowly suffocating body, the woman letting out a small moan of pain as her chest was overcome with a severe ache even stronger than before. As Faustus arrived by her side he grappled for her shoulders, struggling to do so because of how violently she was shaking, trying to steady her as he frantically asked 

"Zelda, what is it? What's wrong?" 

His wife being unable to speak as she fought for air and longed for the pain to stop. Faustus hastily looking her over with big eyes as worry fuelled him and he said 

"Try and breathe for me. Take a deep breath in," The man doing so himself before saying a half-second later," And out, that's it," He smiled as she tried to do so, "That's it, tha- no, no it's not working." He fretted in a panicked voice as his attempted coaching made no difference, the colour draining from his face as he realised this. 

He tried to move her so that she was sitting upright in a way that could allow more air into her lungs, but she was in no state to move, and so he kept hold of her with both hands, his own breathing quickening, heart beginning to pound against his ribcage as he looked at his wife, cupping her cheek with his hand as he spoke, trying to keep his voice calm but unable to stop a small amount of the fear he was feeling from being audible in his words 

"No, no, no... Zelda... Zelda... it's alright, you're alright..." He said in attempt at controlling what was happening, as if saying she was alright when she very obviously wasn’t would somehow speak her wellness into existence, despair on his face as he pulled her to his chest, his arms tight around her as he rubbed her back and frantically thought silently over what to do, his mind going into overdrive. He should know how to fix this! He should know what to do but he was drawing a blank due to shock. 

Hastily glancing around the room, he tried to find inspiration. What could he do? He didn't know what was happening and he was running out of time. ... Time. That was it. He had to buy them time, as sparks crackled in the fire and the ticking of the grandfather clock mirrored the speed of his elevated heartbeat, he gently pushed Zelda away from him, keeping hold of her by her shoulders and looking directly at her as he declared 

"Bene!" - This being a spell to encourage wellness. 

As Zelda's breathing only grew more strained and her eyes began to close, he shook her fiercely in order to try and keep her awake as he exclaimed 

"Nunc Respirare!" - A spell to force the lungs to take in air. When this didn't work his eyes widened and he let out an exasperated groan, hearing his wife's breathing only grow shallower, watching as her body began to grow limp in his arms as he shouted 

"Habete salutem!" The final attempt at casting health upon his wife failing as her lips began to turn blue and her eyes fluttered shut, Faustus letting out a cry of anguish and quickly resting her back against the desk, stepping away from her as she slumped against the wood, her head lolling to one side as her chest falteringly moved up and down in increasingly slowing movements. 

"Periculo revelari!" Faustus yelled, running a clammy hand through his hair as he commanded any danger in the dorm to reveal itself, his eyes frantically looking around as soon as the words were out of his mouth. 

The room was boiling, the tension and desperation in the air overpowering, and as Faustus took a shuddering breath, he saw Zelda's handbag fall to the floor from where it had been placed on a side table. Rushing over to it he unzipped it with trembling hands and emptied the contents onto the floor, seeing nothing of interest and rummaging inside the zipped-up pockets, letting out a noise of pain as something stabbed him, pulling his hand away and seeing a puncture mark on his finger, reaching back into the bag, grabbing whatever had stabbed him and pulling it out, revealing a poppet made from black cloth with pins shoved through the chest where the lungs and heart would be. Yanking the pins from the poppet Faustus hurried over to the fire, dropping the item into the flames, watching it burn and banishing the pins from where he had hold of them. Turning on his heel, he returned to Zelda, looking at her unconscious form and grabbing her by her shoulders, shaking her as he ordered her to wake. 

"Come on, wife! Wake up, wake up!" He barked, pupils wide as he cupped her face with his unsteady hand and waited. 

Zelda jolted awake a few seconds later as the last of the poppet was disintegrated by the fire, gasping loudly for air as she sat upright from where she'd been slumped against the desk, a hand moving to her throat as she took deep gulping breaths, panting, shuddering and beginning to cough as her lungs filled, green eyes rife with confusion as her husband held her tightly in his arms, pulling her to rest against his chest as her chin perched on his shoulder, Zelda continuing to breathe shakily, her body trembling as she tried to speak, Faustus lovingly shushing her as he said 

"Shhh. Don't speak just yet, let your breathing settle. It's alright. You're alright. You're safe." 

The man keeping her in his arms as he rested his chin against her shoulder, a hand in her hair as he gently rocked her, Zelda's heart pounding against her chest as she swallowed air, the pain in her chest completely gone as she allowed her body to relax once more, the woman letting out a slow breath as she eventually managed to ask 

"What the heaven just happened?!" Her rasping voice riddled with fury and disbelief. 

* * *

2 months passed after the poppet incident and no leads were found as to who had created and placed the item in Zelda's bag, nothing was discovered as to why they had done so and nothing was found as to when they had found the time to do so. An extensive search was carried out around the Academy, each pupil and staff member interrogated for an hour at a time, any alibi they had gone over in fine detail, their words and stories examined and their motives called into question. The Academy was searched, any evidence looked for with painstaking attention. No one was safe from the questioning, no part of the Academy was free from examination, and still nothing was found, everyone remaining suspicious of everyone else until eventually it was decided that nothing would come of the search for answers. The end result was what no one wanted, and the case was begrudgingly closed after no more could be done. 

Over the past 2 months Gloriana had managed to stand up by herself, Zelda and Hilda had been working on an earworm spell for a regular at Dr. Cee's shop (Hilda eventually resorting to taking matters into her own hands in regard to the individual after gentle bullying from her sister) when it had happened, the pair turning round to get something and seeing the infant pulling herself up onto her haunches and shakily standing for a few seconds before falling back down into a sitting position once more, Vinegar Tom having darted behind her to keep her from toppling backwards fully and hurting herself as she did so, the baby receiving thunderous applause from her aunt and mother as she reached out for her rattle, beaming up at her mother as she crossed the room and gently lifted her into her arms, the woman telling her how clever she was as Hilda had said that she was a brave girl for standing on her own. Gloriana could now take a few steps whilst someone held her hand, although she rarely chose to do so, preferring to crawl, she knew several more words in spite of still only saying two or three in a sentence, and threw many a tantrum when things didn't go her way, she was slightly underweight but this was chalked up to genetics due to both her parents being of a slender build, refused to take naps during the day unless she was exceedingly tired due to separation anxiety stemming from the subconscious aftereffects of her kidnapping, and had a firm hatred of bananas. 

Now with 5 months of pregnancy to go Zelda was certainly feeling the effects, being exhausted a lot of the time, although she refused to show it, the exhaustion being hidden from many and shown privately when the woman had a moment to herself, often being let out in a tired sigh and with a shutting of the eyes as she rested her forehead against the hand of her propped-up arm. As the baby grew, she felt rather short of breath at times, and her legs, ankles and feet ached frequently, the woman continuing to wear her heels even so, her back regularly aching due to her swollen stomach and the weight of the baby in spite of the many herbal teas laced with soothing spells that Hilda kept forcing her to drink, the constant supply of beverages not helping with her frequent urination. The baby itself was growing well enough, whilst still being small, they were kicking regularly and wriggling around like it was going out of fashion, their toe and fingernails were present, hair was growing on their head, their lungs were almost fully developed and their senses were slowly but surely beginning to form. Gloriana was highly intrigued by her new baby sister or brother, often reaching out a hand to touch her mother's stomach even though she didn't understand the concept that she was going to have a sibling in several months, not yet knowing what a 'baby' was. Zelda and Faustus would often discuss both children, their firstborn's progress and personality being a firm favourite topic of discussion, Gloriana's name being on their lips regularly, the pair discussing her development, her personality, her budding powers and general things about her being spoken about at great length alongside their hopes for her future and desires for her life, the pride they had over their baby girl shining from them whenever she was spoken of or in the room with them, the pair often finding ways to bring her into conversation in order to show off about her. The unborn babe was also a frequent talking point, their wishes for a healthy infant, intrigue over what they would be like and who they would take after as well as their excitement over them regularly finding its way into discussion, Faustus treating his wife like a Queen during her pregnancy and Zelda enjoying this treatment, still maintaining her independence and stubbornness throughout. 

At the end of the 2nd month that had passed since the poppet had been discovered Faustus and Zelda’s wedding anniversary arrived. The day began with luxurious gifts, breakfast in bed and a lovely bath. As it went on, they read, took Gloriana to the park before dropping her off with Hilda, reminisced over a game of chess, listened to classical music, went on a walk, and enjoyed each other's company. It was 4pm when Faustus went over to the drinks cabinet and poured himself a whiskey, taking a sip before turning and looking at Zelda, who was dressed in a glorious black lace dress with a small lace tulle stand up collar, long sleeves and a below knee length skirt, her neck, fingers and ears sparkling with the golden jewellery she had adorned herself with, her louboutins firmly on her feet, the shade of red on the soul of the shoe mirrored in the lip colour she was wearing as she frowned at something in her book and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Watching his wife, Faustus took her in for a moment, the delight that they were married after decades of courting and anguish not having faded in the time that had passed since their marriage and now, Zelda not noticing the look Faustus was giving her, only realising he was focused on her as he began to speak, saying 

"Zelda, put on your coat, I still have one more gift for you and to get to it we have to leave the Academy." 

Folding over the page of her book, Zelda shut it and put it on the table beside her, meeting his gaze with a curious one of her own as she pressed her hands against the arms of her chair and slowly pushed herself upright into standing position, going dizzy for a moment and shutting her eyes before taking a breath and asking Faustus, who had stepped towards her and rested a hand to her arm as she had her dizzy spell, where they were going as she walked over to their coat stand, slipping on her vintage black woollen jacket with the black fur collar and black gunmetal buttons, only able to do up said buttons because of the maternity wear charm she'd placed on it a few weeks ago. She felt Faustus take her arm as they began to walk towards the door, and her husband replied to her question with a subtle smile and a response that she'd see as they went on to exit the Academy. 

* * *

As the couple walked deep into the forest the wind whistled through the trees and a scattered carpet of orchids snowdrops and daffodils stretched out around them, the signs of spring visible as they moved deeper into the woods, Zelda responding to Faustus's comment that the tree at the centre of the forest would be the perfect spot for Gloriana's future Dark Baptism by remarking that that it sounded like a perfectly appropriate place, continuing to walk for a minutes until a house came into view, Zelda taking it in briefly as Faustus stopped walking, not having seen the house before and turning to her husband, about to ask why they'd stopped here as she heard him say 

"Welcome home, Lady Blackwood." 

His arm around her as Zelda looked towards him with wide eyes, whispering, "Faustus..." in awe. 

The house before her was made of dark brick, with a black door that had rose and thorn patterned glass sitting at the top, diamond paned windows and a tiled slate roof with a Victorian chimney. 

"We've needed our privacy for a while now, and the house is only a 10-minute walk away from your sister, niece and nephew, if we need them, they're a quick teleportation or a short walk away, I thought it was time for us to have our own place, as long as you feel comfortable?" He asked, Zelda nodding in response to this as he continued, "I doubt we'll spend every night here, but if we need a break from the Academy or time to ourselves away from the family this will do. Everything is warded with the highest level of protective spells and barriers, and only trusted people named in the spells can come here, be they teleporting or walking. Your sister, niece, nephew, Prudence and Gloriana are the few who can enter or come anywhere near here, anyone else won't be able to see our home, and if they somehow do, I've set up spells that will bind them where they are or banish them and alter their memory, we don't need to worry about anything, myself, you, the baby and Gloriana will be perfectly safe here." 

With a smile on her lips Zelda leant in and kissed her husband lingeringly, pulling away a few moments later and responding 

"This is perfect, Faustus, thank you." 

With a small nod and a gesture towards the house, Faustus felt inside his pocket and handed her a large old fashioned metal key with a pentagram etched on the handle, Zelda taking it and heading towards the door, looking back over her shoulder with a small smile as she slid the key into the lock. 

Once inside it was obvious that the interior of the house was just as perfectly matched to the Blackwoods as the exterior. As soon as you entered the building a vast hallway made itself known, a grey diamond shaped slate floor stretching several feet in front of you. Black wallpaper with a silver vine pattern covered the walls all the way up to the white ceiling on which the Blackwood family crest was engraved directly in the centre, the crest being surrounded by flowers stretching out in elaborate designs across the hall ceiling until they reached the coving going along the edges. An oak wood coat stand and velvet cushioned cabinet for shoes were placed on one side of the hall and as Faustus and Zelda hung up their coats, they could see the classic paintings of mythical and historical figures as well as landscapes that hung along the walls, a grandfather clock and vast display cabinet sitting at the end of the hallway just before the wide black wood staircase with elaborate spun rails. Once coats had been hung up Faustus showed Zelda into the living room, which had large bookshelves coating most of the walls, a 19th century French rococo settee and several matching armchairs dotted around the room. An antique fireplace with a stunning dark wood fire surround was seated in the middle of the wall across from the settee, brown wooden floorboards were half coated by a dark red rug, art was on the walls and on the far side of the room was a drinks cabinet from the 1930s, the cabinet placed to one side of the sofa several feet away from the black curtained bay window, in which sat an oak wood table with claw feet situated between two large armchairs each with their own footstool. In the next room was the kitchen, with large grey slate flooring squares, ceiling beams, brown wooden overhanging cabinets that were much too fancy for your ordinary kitchen, black marble topped worktops, and a large window overlooking the forest of Greendale placed just above the copper sink, the house's conservatory able to be seen a short distance away from the kitchen through said window. On the other half of the kitchen there was a dining area, a large dark wooden table with detailed legs and matching chairs with dark red cushions making up this area, the table and chairs looking out onto French sliding doors that lead onto a veranda. On the other side of the hallway there was a drawing room filled with a black grand piano and a violin, bookshelves so tall you needed a ladder to reach the very top, sofas, vast windows, a large table surrounded by chairs, a gramophone and a tea chest. In the room that joined that via a door sat a Victorian style office to be used for when Zelda and Faustus had work they needed to continue from home, the office being just as grand as the rest of the house despite being a smaller box room joined to the drawing room. The final room downstairs was a grand ballroom with sky high windows and a high ceiling, a fireplace, dining table along one side and a small area of instruments in the bay window on the furthest side of the room. 

Upstairs on the second floor there sat a grand tile floored bathroom with grey walls, a large golden edged art deco mirror situated a marble sink, a clawfoot copper bath big enough to seat well over the required 1 - 2 people, a separate shower with a glass screen in front of it, a grey porcelain floor and a waterfall shower head, a heated towel rail and more gorgeously housed storage space than they would ever need. Opposite from the bathroom there was a timelessly styled nursery large enough to have a separate half dedicated just for play, with all of Gloriana's things and the items purchased for the new baby placed inside it, two cots, two toy boxes, a changing table, large chest of drawers, 2 armchairs, a rocking chair, rocking horse, and a bookshelf making up the room, the portrait of Gloriana and her parents that Ambrose had made for her for her 1st birthday placed above Gloriana’s cot. A guest room with a double bed, wardrobe, vanity, desk and settee was the third room on the floor, the setup of the spare room being the same as the set up on the third floor, the third floor holding three guest bedrooms and a home gym with a silencing spell placed on it, the third floor being the last floor before the attic. The final room on the second floor, the floor with the bathroom, guest room and nursery, was Zelda and Faustus's room, a luxurious suite with a king-sized canopy bed with masterfully crafted antique bedside tables, a large vanity, velvet rug, bookshelf, desk, set of armchairs, and, most importantly, a lock on the door, the lock born from the couple's frustration over experiencing numerous occasions in which they were very nearly walked in on during times of intimacy by family members that simply didn't bother to knock. Every room of the house had a chandelier or old Victorian glass gas lamps for lighting, at least one plant and their own fireplace, whilst each table had a vase of fresh flowers on top of it and each wall had divine pieces of carefully curated classic art from each age adorning them, the odd statue or bust also decorating the corners of several rooms, the basement down below the house, which was intended to mainly be used for spell work, even having its own chandelier and Greek statue within. The whole theme of the house was highly 'dark academia' meets 'Victorian gothic' - a style that epitomised both Zelda and Faustus Blackwood. 

As Zelda stood in the kitchen of the new house, she watched as Faustus fixed them a drink, her gaze lingering on various objects in the room as she leant against one of the kitchen worktops, the view of tall trees and forest flowers taking her breath away as she looked outside, the clinking of the bottles and glasses Faustus was using to concoct their drinks calming her, mixing into the faint soundtrack of her moment of quiet as she watched branches sway. Hearing footsteps, she turned her head to see Faustus arriving next to her, their fingers brushing as he handed her her non-alcoholic glass of red wine, the pair clinking their drinks together as they stood in the kitchen, Faustus raising his glass to his lips and taking a sip before asking Zelda what she thought of the place. 

"It's marvellous, Faustus, praise Lilith that you were able to find it for us. Though I don't recall there ever being a house in the woods." She stated, taking a sip of her drink as Faustus said, slipping an arm around her 

"There never has been. I crafted it myself with the help of very old magic used by the warlocks from centuries ago and some more modern spells I came up with myself. I've been working on it for months in time for our anniversary." He said proudly, the plans he’d been working on being what he’d hidden from her when she had come downstairs after her nightmare some time ago, Zelda raising her glass to him before saying that in a low voice that in that case, his talent made her all the more impressed, moving in closer to him and resting her head on his shoulder as he sipped his drink. 

Feeling the man kiss her hair as they fell silent after a few more minutes of talking, Zelda shut her eyes, taking in the show of affection and draining her drink upon opening her eyes once more, setting her glass on the counter to the side of her and raising her head up from his shoulder, watching him as he stared up at the beams of the house, as if inspecting his handiwork, the woman pressing a kiss to his cheek as she said 

"Thank you for doing this for us, Faustus, I don't know how much longer I could have coped with seeing Dr. Cee and Hilda giving each other sickeningly affectionate glances across the living room whenever he visited the house, or if I could have stood hearing the sound of students thinking they were being quiet as they tried to drunkenly make their way back to their dorms in the middle of the night for much longer." 

Moving his face closer to hers Faustus sipped his drink before responding 

"That's partly the reason I built the place for us, having such little privacy was highly disrespectful for those of our standing." 

As he set his drink down and settled back into leaning against the worktop, turning his face in his wife’s direction, Zelda looked at him and smiled a flirtatious smile, moving onto her tiptoes (having to do so even in high heels due to their height difference) and looping her arms around his throat, pressing a kiss to his lips, Faustus wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her back hungrily, running his hands over her as he did so, Zelda arching her back at his touch and slipping her tongue between his lips, teasingly running it over the inside of his lower lip before pulling it back and proceeding to take his bottom lip between her teeth, shivering in arousal as she heard him let out a low moan and felt him drag his hands up along her back and into her hair, the man tugging on it just hard enough to cause her to let out a gasp, pulling away from the kiss for air moments later and looking up at her husband, who gazed down at her with dilated pupils, the atmosphere around them having electrified, her lipstick smudged across his mouth, Zelda reaching up and tracing a finger along Faustus’s chiselled jaw, tilting his face to the side and placing a kiss on the corner of his mouth, continuing to mark him as her own by dotting lipstick-mark-kisses along his cheek and then his jaw, placing several in a line down his neck in a single continuous move, feeling his breathing falter at the action as he slipped his hands around her hips, squeezing her rear tight, desire hitting Zelda's bloodstream at his action, proceeding to bite his neck and suck on the skin hard enough to leave a mark, pulling away after she heard him let out a carnal groan in response to her administrations. 

As soon as she pulled away Faustus passionately pressed his lips against hers, kissing her hard as he wrapped his arms around her and walked her backwards over to the table, lifting her up and placing her on it as she wrapped her legs around his hips, the man undoing the buttons at the back of her dress as he kissed her, slipping it down over her arms and letting go of the fabric just as he reached her baby bump, undoing her bra and discarding it on the floor as he reached up and cupped her breasts in his hands, Zelda shutting her eyes as he ran a finger across her nipple, letting out a small gasp as he squeezed her breasts before moving on to take one in his mouth, toying with the nipple of one breast whilst caressing the other, the action causing Zelda’s breathing to quicken, the woman letting out a small whimper as he pulled away, unhooking her legs from around Faustus’s hips and moving closer to him as she kissed him roughly, reaching down to his trousers and unbuttoning them before sliding them down and brushing her fingers over his waistband as she moved her hand across the fabric and slowly teased the tip of his erection through it before running her hand back across the waistband of his underwear as he kissed her, the man biting her bottom lip and causing her to let out sharp breath against his mouth at the feeling before going on to kiss her full on the mouth once more, Zelda hearing him begin to pant at her touch and slipping her hand inside his silk boxers, moving one hand to his erection, running her fingers over it and circling the tip with her index finger before moving her hand up over the length, stroking his erection back and forth for several moments, feeling him harden even more in her hand and hearing him moan, the sound slick with sensual fervency as she circled the tip with her fingers once again before sliding her hand up over his member and across his hip, dragging her hands up across his back and running them over his skin as Faustus squeezed the tops of her thighs, slipping his hands under her underwear and sliding it down over her legs before letting it fall to the floor, Zelda pulling down his own underwear as he moved closer to her, wrapping her legs around him as he kissed her roughly and pushed his erection inside her, this causing Zelda to let out a gasp of pleasure that soon turned into a moan, the woman feeling Faustus shiver upon hearing the noise, the pair's lips crushed against each other as they kissed, their breathing coming out in pants as they moved together, moaning as their pace quickened, Zelda frantically rocking her hips back and forth in time with Faustus moving inside her, moaning loudly against his lips as he groaned in arousal, grinding her hips back and forth in time with his deep thrusts inside her, their twinned moans growing louder, hands running over each other as their feelings of pleasure and delight only heighten more with each second. 

Several minutes later, with a light sheen of sweat visible across Zelda's brow and Faustus's shirt sticking to his body, the woman felt the building sensation inside her finally come to fruition as she climaxed, letting out a cry as the unparalleled sensation ripped through her, bucking her hips as the feeling of release pulsated through her small frame. Shortly after this Faustus let out a low moan as he emptied himself inside her, the feeling of ecstasy overtaking him as he dug his nails deep into her bare skin, the couple's bodies stilling a few moments later, arms wrapped around each other, limbs entwined as they came down from their activities, breathing erratic as they tried to take control over it once more, Faustus slowly straightening his back and cupping Zelda's face as he looked at her, his breathing ragged, hair a mess as he kissed her, their lips pressed together in a lingering kiss, Zelda feeling her heart pounding against her chest as she let out a satisfied sigh upon pulling away, tucking her hair behind her ear as Faustus rested his forehead against hers, the pair eventually untangling themselves from each other and heading upstairs to make use of the shower. 

* * *

To most of the staff at the Academy the daily staff meetings were a chore, they were considered to be slow, repetitive and, quite frankly, dull. To Zelda and Faustus Blackwood, however, these meetings were integral to the Academy's daily routine, they were a chance to take stock of the upcoming day, to reflect on any issues the school was facing, to organise and to plan, both man and woman finding such meetings of high import. As Zelda stood next to her husband, a look of pride on her face as they spoke of the Academy they were running together in all but name (Zelda still being 'Lady Blackwood' and having a significantly lesser role than her husband, only being in the meeting as she was a member of staff and standing next to Faustus as he'd requested it) she brushed a minute spec of dirt off of her black pencil skirt that came down to her midcalf and straightened the cuff of the grey silk button up blouse with the frilled jabot collar, shifting her weight slightly from one black high heel to the other as she listened to Faustus speak of the new stimulus for the Familiar Summoning lesson that was to be given to those who had only recently had their Dark Baptism, Zelda hearing Gloriana begin to fuss from where Prudence was looking after her in the corner of the room and glancing to her side as her daughter began to wail, poor Prudence hastily trying to shush her sister and hold her against her hip as she wriggled. 

"Prudence, why is my daughter crying?" Firmly queried Faustus as his grip on his notebook tightened at the noise. 

"I don't know!" The girl hissed, rocking Gloriana a little faster and continuing to try and shush her. 

"Is she perhaps teething?" Broke in Ellia Fettiplace curiously, tilting her head to the side as she addressed the High Priest. 

"Quite possibly." Stated Zelda before her husband could respond, "She has two back teeth but now would be the right time for others to begin to grow." 

"Oh dear." Sadly, responded Ellia, sticking out her bottom lip a little in upset as Zelda gave her a quizzical look in regard to her miniscule pout, unsure whether or not she was being serious, "I know a soothing charm that may help, Father Blackwood, may I?" Asked the black-haired woman, standing up from her chair as Faustus agreed, Prudence turning Gloriana in the direction of the new teacher as the woman placed her hand to her forehead and spoke an incantation, the baby’s crying stopping a few moments later, the infant cooing softly as she rested her head against Prudence's chest, moving her thumb into her mouth as Prudence glanced down at her baby sister's new state. 

"Sister Fettiplace, you are a hellsend." Said Faustus gratefully, his tone approving as he watched Ellia smile and return back to her seat with a slight blush to her cheeks at the compliment. 

Zelda watched, simmering with a quiet rage as she saw this, the scene being all too familiar, reminding her of when, in the hours after the birth of Faustus and Constance’s twins and shortly before their death from complications, she had calmed the crying babes with a soothing spell and Faustus had complimented her with the exact same turn of phrase. As Ellia noticed Zelda's unwavering stone faced look she gave her a small smile and the staff turned back to listen to what Faustus was saying, the man continuing his sentence from before and moving on to talk more about who would be running the class (it turning out that Sister Whitney would be doing so, much to her delight) before turning to Zelda, the man standing with his arm wrapped round her waist and suggesting she take the next order of business, Zelda taking a second to register this, turning her gaze away from where she had been watching Ellia and clearing her throat before saying 

"Yes, of course, Father." Looking back over the staff members she began, "Now, obviously you'll have heard about the incident in which Sabrina Spellman mistakenly turned Rosmerta Grayson into a copper kettle during class, causing her absence from the rest of her lessons until the spell could be reversed," Removing some papers from the desk in front of her she picked them up and showed one to her fellow teachers, continuing "I have here a letter of apology from Sabrina, of which I'm going to hand out copies. As you'll be able to read, she promises to help Rosmerta catch up on her work and..." 

Ellia stopped listening half way through Zelda's words, focusing her attention on inaudibly chanting a spell to herself as the woman made to hand out the letters of apology from her niece, Zelda's ankle turning jarringly to the side as her leg buckled whilst she took a step forwards, the strawberry blonde staggering and beginning to fall, stumbling to the ground and narrowly avoiding striking her temple on the corner of the desk as she smacked against the floor, the staff members jumping up as Faustus rushed to his wife's side, the letters of apology cascading down from where they'd been thrown into the air when Zelda lost her footing. 

"Zelda! Are you alright?" Miss Tyvaina asked as Faustus began to check his wife over, asking her if she was alright and generally fussing over her, clutching at her as though he was scared she would break if she wasn't in his arms as she said, voice flustered 

"I'm fine, I'm fine. No damage done." The woman brushing off everyone's voiced concern as she placed a hand to her stomach protectively and tried to stand up, Faustus helping her as Ellia asked, voice kind and empathetic 

"Are you sure you're ok? Your ankle isn't hurt? It looks a little swollen." 

Zelda looking at her for a beat to long before she responded that she was quite alright, Ellia nodding and sitting back in her chair as the woman brushed herself off, remarking, "Now, as I was saying...", and proceeding to continue her announcement like nothing had happened. 

* * *

As Sabrina and Ambrose sat in the living room area of Blackwood Manor the old Victorian gas lamps shone gorgeous shapes on the walls, the fire had burned down to glowing embers, the gramophone played Canon in D Major by Johann Pachelbel and the window was half open, letting in a gentle breeze as Sabrina studied for tomorrow’s Alchemy test with her cousin's help, Gloriana banging her rattle against the leg of the table they were working at in a repeated motion, sucking on her thumb as she did so, her mother sitting on the armchair in the bay window with her heel wearing feet resting on the footstool before her as she browsed through her newspaper, attempting to block out the sound of her niece complaining about boys. 

"I mean, Nick's been so distant lately and - Gloriana stop it, I can't hear myself think," spoke the teenage witch as she scribbled down some annotations in her book, moving to still her cousin's hand as it banged the clutched rattle against the leg once again, Gloriana pulling her rattle away from the table leg with an indignant cry of, "Mine!", in response, clearly thinking Sabrina was trying to steal the toy from her and using one of her most recently learned words in an attempt to establish her authority, "I don't want to take it, Gee, I just want you to stop banging against the wooden leg whilst we're trying to study and talk," Sabrina tried to explain, Gloriana simply looking at her as she sighed and continued to say, going back to her conversation, "Anyway, Nick's been all distant lately, I don't know what's wrong but it's making being on the Ostara Committee and preparing for the celebrations really difficult, I was thinking about quitting..." 

The sound of Zelda flicking her newspaper down with vigour becoming audible the second after she said those words, her aunt's voicing of, "No you won't. We need you there, teen angst will not get in the way of us honouring the wheel of the year, Sabrina, do you understand?", being downplayed a little as Gloriana began to bang her rattle against the table leg again, Sabrina whining in response that Harvey needed her anyway because his father was giving him a really hard time about his work in the mines, being cut off as she said the words 'maybe I should-' by Zelda saying measuredly that Sabrina should know by now that they weren't meant to medal in mortal affairs. 

In response to this Sabrina sighed dramatically, Gloriana dropping her rattle to the floor with a loud clang that made both older cousins jump, the infant picking up her porcelain doll from beside her and beginning to gum it's hand, Zelda spotting this and worrying that the hand would shatter in her daughter’s mouth despite the non-shattering spell placed on it, standing up from her chair, walking over to her daughter, and handing her a pacifier instead, Gloriana taking it and looking at it before dropping it on the floor, her mother arching a brow at her as if to say 'Really? Was that a good move?', the baby looking momentarily anxious over this before breaking out into a smile as she continued to gum the hand of her doll, Zelda rolling her eyes good humouredly and heading back to her seat, continuing to read her newspaper and hold an unlit cigarette in her holder (simply because she craved the action and the scent of the things even when she wasn't smoking them) as Sabrina and Ambrose continued to study, the warlock picking up the flashcards Sabrina had made and saying she should try some questions, reading 

"What languages do the term Alchemy supposedly originate from?" 

Sabrina thinking for a second before asking 

"Greek, Arabic, French and Egyptian?" 

Ambrose nodding and saying that was the correct answer before moving on to read from the next card. 

"Which of these is considered by many to be the most important, and also the most enigmatic, alchemist of the 20th century? Is it Fulcanelli, Fabricius, Fibonacci or Fillipelli?" 

Sabrina frowning as she repeated the names to herself before confidently answering 

"Fulcanelli." 

"Very good," Replied Ambrose before setting the card down and shuffling them, plucking another card out of the pile and querying, "What mysterious substance is absolutely necessary to achieve a successful transmutation?" Clearing his throat at the end of the sentence as Sabrina paused, thinking hard before doubtfully saying 

"Um, I don't know. Is... is it Green Lion?" 

Ambrose shaking his head no and showing her the answer written on the card as he said 

"No, sorry, cuz, it's the Philosopher's stone." 

Sabrina crossing her arms and sighing defeatedly as she declared 

"I'm never going to pass this test!" 

Gloriana pulling herself up into standing and placing her doll on the table in front of her with a thud as she leant against it, the doll knocking against the ink pot Sabrina had placed at the centre of the desk and causing it to fall over, the ink spreading across the table in a thick black river, staining and seeping through everything in sight as Sabrina leapt up with a frustrated cry of, "Gloriana!", Ambrose wincing at the high pitch of her words and Zelda looking up from her newspaper as Gloriana began to cry at being shouted at, the ink beginning to drip off of the table and onto the floor as it poured from the tipped over bottle. 

"It's alright, Sabrina, she didn't mean it." Ambrose urged regarding Gloriana’s actions, reaching out a hand to comfort his baby cousin before beginning to scoop up the ink-soaked sheets into a pile as Sabrina exclaimed 

"That's not the point, she should have been more careful!" 

Ambrose giving her a look of disbelief at her words as Zelda appeared by the table, picking up a crying Gloriana off of the floor with some difficulty due to her condition and setting her on her hip, kissing her forehead and shushing her as she said 

"Sabrina, she's 14 months old, she's unable to 'be careful' like we are, there was no need to shout." Her words stern as she reprimanded her niece, rubbing circles against Gloriana's back as she hiccupped, still crying, face streaked with tears, Sabrina trying to argue but being spoken over and falling silent as her aunt said with disapproval in her eyes, "I find it rather hypocritical that you, a teenage witch with an inability to cause anything other than chaos, became distressed over someone else accidentally doing so." With an icy expression, Zelda looked at Sabrina for a moment, the blonde swallowing hard and glancing to the floor as her aunt finished by saying, "I think you had best apologise." 

Sabrina shifting from one foot to the other before glancing back up and looking at Gloriana before saying quietly 

"I'm sorry, Gloriana." 

Gloriana sniffing sadly in response and letting out a pitiful little whimper, able to feel the anger leaving her cousin and the sadness growing inside her, the words she was thinking being indecipherable to her, despite her ability to hear them, due to her age. With a final hiccup (the blasted things being brought on by the stress of the situation and the gulping tears she had cried) the baby girl outstretched a hand towards her cousin to show that she wanted to go to her, Sabrina reaching out and taking her, older cousin holding younger cousin as Zelda turned to look at Ambrose, who was trying to sort everything out from where it sat on the table, placing ink-sodden papers into piles, and waving a hand as she said an incantation, the ink disappearing from the work they had done and everywhere else it had spilled, appearing back in the ink pot as Zelda said, "And next time you aren't using the ink, Sabrina, put the lid on the container." 

Ambrose and Sabrina looking at each other as their aunt made her way back to her armchair, picking up her paper and continuing to read as the younger witch and warlock sat down at the table once more, Sabrina settling Gloriana on her knee as Ambrose handed her ‘Toy Tom’ to play with, studying soon resuming. 

* * *

Ellia Fettiplace had been correct, Gloriana was certainly teething. Four teeth were trying to come through at once, two more on the bottom and the first two on top. Because of this the tiny 14 month old was in a lot of pain, crying constantly, sucking on ‘Toy Tom's’ ear for comfort and clinging to her mother whilst simultaneously lashing out whenever she was moved too quickly, the pain in her mouth being the only thing she could think of, no amount of charms and soothing spells or potions taking the edge off entirely, the level of pain remaining in Gloriana causing her to not want to eat or drink, her tiny face pinched from discomfort and her mood utterly soured. It wouldn't have been so bad had there been a spell to calm her and take the pain away completely, but the level of power the spells contained had to be watered down considerably due to Gloriana's age and small size, the intensity of the relief the child felt being much smaller than it would have been had she been older or had only one tooth causing her discomfort. Hilda was trying her best to come up with a baby-safe pain killing tea like the ones witches and warlocks used for when little ones injured themselves or had something wrong elsewhere, but it was taking longer than it should have due to the mathematics involved in calculating everything correctly whilst keeping Gloriana’s incredibly young age and tiny weight into consideration, researching exactly what herbs were best to use whilst making sure they didn't counteract with each other, and doing so whilst working shifts at Dr. Cee's. Dr. Cee _had_ offered to allow Hilda to work on the potion during her working hours but the blonde had refused, saying she couldn't leave him short staffed like that. 

Zelda was feeling the effects of this whole ordeal. She couldn't spend a moment away from Gloriana whilst she felt so unwell, both emotionally and in terms of her child screaming blue murder whenever she left the room even for a second. Whenever she went to take a moment for herself her ears would be assaulted by the most visceral high-pitched screeches, and so she had taken to carrying her baby girl around with her at all times, rarely leaving the bedroom of the Blackwood Academy dorm. Everything was everywhere - food, clothes, water, baby diapers, formula, blankets and toys, books, work and even Vinegar Tom, the poor dog sitting by his Witch's feet with a long suffering look on his face, even his presence not helping the babe in her suffering. The blinds were closed because the light seemed to distress Gloriana even more, most likely due to the pain she was in, and Zelda had started with good intentions, casting cleaning spells every time she finished with something, but as Gloriana had grown more distressed, her unborn baby caused her more feelings of illness and emotional upheaval, and time seemed to slip away from her at an even faster rate, the spells fell by the wayside as Zelda tried to help her daughter, trying numerous aids and distractions, but only being left with a dissatisfied response. 

She tried to comfort her? 

Crying, crying, crying, crying. 

She tried to play with her? 

Crying, crying, crying, _crying_. 

She sang? Crying. 

She walked her across the room back and forth and back and forth? Crying. 

She turned around for a second to get a bottle in an attempt to get her daughter to eat? Crying. 

She even tried to rock her daughter up and down but for that she was granted a small and angry push against her cheek as a sign to stop and even more crying. 

Crying, crying, crying, crying, crying! 

Looking down at Gloriana in her arms Zelda held her, kissing her hair and shushing her, trying to keep her patience and remember what she had always told mothers when she had practiced as a midwife - that the baby wasn't crying to be annoying or hurtful, they were crying because they needed something, they needed their mother, they needed comfort and love, they needed help, and as she rested Gloriana's shaking and watery eyed little form against her body she softly shushed her, rubbing her back and saying 

"I know, it's awful, but I've got you, you're ok, the pain'll be over once Aunt Hilda finally makes that potion and I can stop casting spells on you every two hours whilst trying to work." 

Lovingly shushing her as Gloriana whimpered Zelda reached over to the table to get something, picking up a handkerchief and dabbing at the baby's teary cheeks with it, Gloriana not reacting well to this, the touch of the fabric against her skin causing her tender face to radiate with pain and causing screaming to erupt from her yet again, Zelda shutting her eyes and taking a breath as Vinegar Tom whined and backed away under the arm chair opposite them, Gloriana struggling against her mother's hold as Zelda heaved herself up out of the arm chair and began walking across the room once again, shushing her and rubbing her back as they made their way from the drinks cabinet in the corner to the bedside table on the other side of the room, stopping half way and standing by the portrait she and Faustus had had commissioned after their wedding (the image depicting a foreboding couple that emitted power and regality just from looking at them) and taking a breath before continuing to walk the path back from the drinks cabinet and up to the bedside table again and again, holding the crying baby close as she whispered 

"Please, please, please stop... please stop... stop crying, please stop crying... shhh, shhh, it's ok, I'm here..." 

The disheartened mother sitting on the edge of the bed once the pain in her back and feet got too much to continue walking, perching on top of the deep green cashmere velvet throw and trying to rock her daughter up and down, narrowly avoiding getting a waving clenched fist to the face in response as Gloriana squirmed. She was so tired, her body felt heavy, every muscle ached with tension and her head pounded, mind fizzing as she shut her eyes, longing for silence as the tiny strawberry blonde on her lap vocalised her distress at, if possible, an even higher pitch. 

"Please, Gloriana, please stop, I know it hurts but I'm doing all I can ..." She said, stroking her daughter's hair absentmindedly before opening her eyes, glancing down at Gloriana as she fell quiet for a moment, her eyes glistening red in the light, having grown raw and bloodshot from her continuous sobbing. 

With a sigh, Zelda gently rested her daughter on the bed, sitting Gloriana down against the middle of the end bed frame so that she wasn't in danger of falling and injuring herself as the babe screamed her displeasure at the world, her mother leaning forwards and pushing her hands up into her hair, pulling on it hard as a way of grounding herself and, in turn, punishing herself for not being able to help her daughter more than she had, screwing her eyes shut as she let out a shuddering breath, trying to ignore the tears falling from her daughter and the shrieking sound filling the room. 

The sound of the door opening at the entrance to the set of rooms that made up their dorm and her husband's voice were what snapped her back to reality, Faustus telling Ellia that he had the book she needed for her next class in his dorm's living room, telling her to wait outside as he got it, saying he'd just be a moment and wincing as he heard Gloriana's cries, abandoning the search for the book to check on his wife and daughter briefly as he headed towards the bedroom, finding Zelda standing by the closed curtains and holding the wriggling 14 month old as he entered the room, Zelda looking at him with those green eyes of hers, her hair a mess, clothing somewhat dishevelled as she saw her husband enter their Academy bedroom, his words of concern getting lost over the sobbing of their daughter, his gaze falling upon the room in horror at the state it was in, Zelda walking over to him and hearing him ask why Gloriana was crying as he kissed her cheek and rested a hand against their daughter's curls. 

"She's teething. The pain she feels is constant despite the spells." Zelda said, Faustus moving to take the baby from her arms, wincing as she cried louder, and asking 

"Why is the room such a mess? Have you not been casting cleaning charms?" The man trying to rock Gloriana up and down and soon realising that only made her cry harder. 

"I've not had time. She won't eat, won't sleep, won't play, all she does it cry and if I turn away for a moment her cries worsen." Faustus frowning at this as he held their daughter and placed a hand to his wife's arm as she asked, "Could you take her for the next few hours? I'm at the end of my tether here." 

Faustus seemed to consider this. Obviously, he wanted to help his wife and daughter, but he had a class to teach and then papers to mark, a babe who quite clearly wouldn't stop crying would only cause disruption in the class and be unfair on his students, and so he replied 

"I have work to do," Thinking for a moment as he shushed Gloriana and suggested in a tone that made it sound more like an order, "Ask Prudence?" 

Zelda's shaking her head and saying 

"She's in a lesson, Hilda is at work, Ambrose is surveying the grounds on Top Boy duty, Sabrina is at her mortal school, I wouldn't ask if it wasn't necessary." 

The pair locking eyes as Faustus sighed, holding their fussing child tighter as she grizzled, looking as though he was about to agree to her request, not getting a chance to speak as the voice of Ellia Fettiplace sounded as she entered the bedroom, offering to take Gloriana for them. 

"What the heaven are you doing here, Sister Fettiplace?" Asked Zelda sharply, her tone causing Gloriana to fall silent in shock as she heard it, quiet falling over the room as the woman narrowed her eyes, looking between Ellia and Faustus as Faustus stated, angered that Ellia had entered the dorm without his permission 

"I thought I told you to wait outside whilst I got the book." 

Ellia smiling and saying kindly as she took a few steps forward 

"I know, Father, but I heard the commotion and I had to help. I could take her. My next class only had a few extracurricular students in to study, I could suggest they take the session themselves in the library and come into class to watch Gloriana for you, I'm sure I can get her to stop crying." 

Zelda starting a biting sentence of, "I don't think-", before being cut off by Faustus as he agreed to the offer with a curt nod, Zelda asking, horrified at this decision, if he really thought that was a good idea, Faustus saying it would be fine, that he would be watching Ellia and Gloriana throughout the class, that Gloriana had her protective bracelet on and reminding her that since the poppet incident the school wards didn’t allow the staff members to teleport or use violent magic within them, saying that whilst he didn't think Ellia would do anything to harm Gloriana or steal her away, precautions were and would be in place to make sure. 

"Our daughter will be safe." Faustus finished, Gloriana beginning to whimper again, tears spilling from her eyes once more as her father tried to calm her mother's worry. 

Zelda heard all of this, she accepted the reassurance, but there was one thing that filled her with doubt, and that was the patterns. The patterns that had been replaying ever since Ellia had arrived, her offers of help, her compliments to her husband, her hard work and her desire for responsibility. These actions had been played out by Zelda herself when she had started working at the Academy whilst being a midwife to Constance, she had been eager, a good worker, finding excuses to be around Faustus just as he had with her - the man giving her important responsibilities just to be close to her, and whilst they had shared history she knew her husband had a pattern of seeing numerous witches, especially when around a pregnant wife, he'd never been unfaithful to her, but with the way things were going she was worried it would only be a matter of time. 

"I see, this is how it is." Zelda began, her voice cold as Faustus arched an eyebrow at her in confusion, "It's how it was with Constance. Your wife falls pregnant and you go looking for another woman." 

The words hit Faustus like a brick to the chest as he heard them, Zelda's hormones and his old behaviour causing his wife to panic and jump to conclusions whilst he had no intention of repeating history. Ellia was a hard worker, yes, but she wasn't his type at all, she was beautiful but not a patch on Zelda, and that was the main thing really. She wasn't Zelda, she wasn't the woman he had courted for years, wasn't the woman he had a child with, wasn't the woman whose brother had refused to let him wed her, she wasn't the woman who had made him believe that witches and warlocks were capable of more than lust, Ellia wasn't the one he desired, not the one that he remained infatuated with or who pushed his senses and passion into overdrive. It had been different with Constance, he'd seen witch after witch after witch because he hadn't been happy, he'd been insatiable because he'd been away from who he truly wanted, only marrying his ex-wife out of convenience after Zelda had gone to Europe, struggling to remain only friends with her when she came back to find he had a wife and continuing to cheat on Constance with other women whilst fantasising they were a certain red-haired witch. He'd been able to stand it no longer when she had started working at the Academy again, unable to tolerate doing anything but bringing her out of retirement so he had an excuse to be near her, their intoxicating obsession with each other never fading after all their years of knowing each other. When Zelda said that he was repeating a pattern, when she worried about his faithfulness, it cut deep, and all he could do was respond by saying 

"Lady Blackwood," using her title in an attempt to remind her of her status and how she should be behaving, "You insult me." His tone dangerous. 

Oh, now he was insulted? Would _he_ have allowed a new staff member to parade around _her_ so obviously had the shoe been on the other foot? Zelda didn't think so. 

"Is that not how it was with your ex-wife?" She asked, a bitter undertone to her words, "She became pregnant and you sought me out, if she had not died in childbirth with the twins would you have married about me and been here for our child?" 

It was a low blow but a question that had been on her mind since she had fallen pregnant with Gloriana. She knew how he had treated Prudence, knew how he’d abandoned her mother and how the poor woman had drowned herself in the lake, she’d always wondered what would have happened if Constance and her children hadn’t died, and now that they were married with another baby on the way some part of her was worried that, even though they still burned for each other, even though they still matched each other, he would grow bored, her jealousy of this pretty new witch stemming from her own overthinking and her knowledge of her husband's form. She was worried, she didn't believe her worries at first, but his acceptance of Ellia's proposal made her pause even though she knew what he was saying about the protective spells and wards was true, and so her personal demons came out to play. 

Hearing Zelda's talk of Constance and what had happened between them whilst she’d been with child, and hearing her questions over if he would have stood by them, caused Faustus to rile, his eyes narrowing as he said

"You know I would have still married you. It's different with you and I-" 

"How, Faustus? I see no difference here. A pregnant wife and a wandering eye." Cut in Zelda, her paranoia blocking out what her husband was saying, anxiety convincing her everything he was telling her was a lie to save himself. 

As Gloriana's cries grew in volume and the couple looked at each other, a stalemate developing between them as they stood in silence for a moment, their daughter's discomforted wails causing their already short tempers to grow even shorter and the atmosphere in the room to be heightened as they fought, Faustus shook his head at his wife before finally responding 

"Go home, Zelda, I'll talk to you when you begin speaking sense." 

His rage and lack of time before his next lesson causing him to shut down, the man exhaling slowly through his nose in an attempt to calm himself. 

"I-" Zelda began 

"Go home, wife. This is an order from your High Priest and you will obey!" Faustus barked. 

The couple made eye contact as Zelda exhaled sharply, body tense, face stony as she snatched Gloriana from her husband's arms, her daughter crying louder at the sudden rough movement, the woman giving Ellia a vicious glare as she walked past her, Vinegar Tom at her heels as she exited the room after grabbing her handbag, staring straight ahead as she stormed out of the Academy, heels clicking against the floor loudly as she ignored her other staff members and made her way to the car parked out back, placing her bag on the bonnet of the car and reaching into it with one hand to grab her keys as Gloriana wriggled and wailed pitifully, the sound causing a slight ringing to sound in her mother's ears as she shushed her and riffled through her bag for the keys, eventually finding them and unlocking the vehicle, leaning inside and putting her daughter in her car seat, a task that was as far away from being easy as you could get as Gloriana kicked, writhed and screamed so loudly that Zelda was sure she was going to hurt herself, the witch trying to soothe her daughter as she strapped her in, Vinegar Tom hopping into the seat next to his younger charge and curling up next to her as Zelda shut the door, taking her bag off the bonnet of the car and placing it in the footwell of the front passenger seat before slamming her door shut and pulling on her belt, starting the car and proceeding to drive away from the Academy, her mind whirring into overdrive as she thought back over what had just happened, wondering if she'd been too panicked to see reason or if she was right and Ellia was on the way to taking her place. As she drove, she tried to go over every detail of what had just happened but it was no use, she couldn't think logically with how ill she was feeling and with the screaming of Gloriana echoing around the car from the back seat. She was too hyped up, adrenaline rushing through her veins, the blood pounding in her ears and her body shaking as she changed gear and began to drive faster, only wanting to get home and not paying attention to the state of the road. 

As her car went over a pothole, a pothole that was always there and that she'd never had any problems going over before, she didn't expect what happened next. Didn't expect her car to judder, didn't expect it to somehow manage to swerve wildly as it went over the bumpy gash in the road, didn't have time to stop the car from flipping over onto its head, the woman panicking as the car rolled over and over, careering into a ditch on the side road as Gloriana cried in fear, Vinnie T barked and Zelda struggled to undo her belt whilst hanging upside down, everything going black soon after the car stilled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leaving a comment only takes a moment, kindly do so, it's the least you can do considering this is free content. I spend numerous hours a week crafting a new chapter and receive hardly any feedback, it would be nice to receive more than 2 comments in return for my effort.
> 
> The questions Ambrose asks in the Alchemy studying section of this chapter are based on ones found here 'https://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz1878621583158.html'. The answers come from there too.


	6. Jigsaws, Wrens and Propositions.

As Zelda was carried in from the accident the clock was ticking. The woman hadn't realised it as the car had been spinning but she'd sustained a large number of injuries to her body from the crash - her skin was coated in gashes, scratches and wounds from the car's shattered windscreen and windows, she'd smacked her head against the roof when the vehicle had stilled, and she’d been lying upside down for an hour when someone stumbled upon the site of the overturned wreckage. It was fortunate that one of the coven members of the Church of Lilith had found Zelda, Gloriana and Vinegar Tom when they did, as Zelda had lost a lot of blood and had been bleeding out as her daughter wailed and Vinegar Tom barked, none of them able to get out of the overturned car and therefore being stuck where they were until Marie LeFleur found them, the witch pulling the three individuals from the vehicle's ruins and spiriting the injured party back to the Academy, arriving in the entrance hall with them as she called for help, Hilda coming running straight away, Vinegar Tom scurrying after his mistress as she was rushed into the medical room, barking anxiously as he followed, the poor creature being badly injured, with his ear hanging off, a broken tail and a limping paw, Faustus rushing to his wife, going to her side but being told to keep back, the man taking Gloriana from Mambo Marie and wrapping his arms around her, the staff and students of the Academy hearing the commotion and curiously leaving their rooms and classes to see what the was going on, Gloriana crying loudly, luckily unhurt due to protection-spelled-bracelet she was wearing, wailing for her mother and outstretching her arms towards her, her face turning pink as Faustus held her and watched the scene before him with a fretfully pensive expression on his face as Hilda and Marie placed Zelda onto the main table in the medical room and began to assess her wounds, Prudence hunching down to quickly cast a healing spell over Vinegar Tom before standing up and asking how she could help, Hilda telling her to grab the First Aid kit from the main cupboard as she tried to stop the profuse bleeding from her sister's injured body, casting several spells as Marie checked for broken bones and head trauma. Faustus shook his head in disbelief as he held his upset daughter, Ambrose and Sabrina watching from the doorway with terrified expressions as Prudence opened the First Aid kit and cast a multiplying spell on the small handful of rags held inside one section of the tin, handing them to Hilda to staunch the bleeding and helping her do so as Marie, having removed the glass shards from Zelda's body with an incantation and fixed several broken bones, attempted to reverse the swelling on Zelda's brain. As Zelda lay there, fortunately with no signs of internal bleeding or damage to the unborn child due to the protective charms she had placed on the babe after her near misses with the staircase's gargoyle statue, her fall and general anxiety, her face was white as paper, eyes shut, blood soaking through the applied rags, the Academy members watching in a stunned silence as Sabrina cried, Ambrose stared, and Faustus waited with baited breath and fear in his eyes as he cradled a sobbing Gloriana tight.

Hilda crying, "I can't stop the bleeding!" in a desperate voice, trying spell after spell after spell to stop it from flowing, "There's too many separate wounds to focus on," her heart breaking as she tried to help her sister and only failed.

"You have to do _something!_ " Exclaimed Faustus authoritatively as Marie said that Zelda's pulse was fading and Gloriana began wriggling in her father's arms in an attempt to reach out to her mother, Vinegar Tom whimpering as Hilda, Marie and Prudence worked, Sabrina crying against Ambrose's chest, both Ambrose and Faustus looking shell shocked as they watched the scene, Faustus moving closer to Zelda and catching sight of her bruised face as he let out a shaky breath.

The temperature in the room heightened, the bell rang for the next Academy class but no one moved, and Hilda, Marie and Prudence did everything they could as crucial seconds passed.

"What about Gloriana?" Suggested Ambrose hurriedly as Marie and Hilda conferred over what to do next, "The Dark Lord said that she would be more powerful than all of us, maybe she can do something?"

The Spellman-Blackwoods and Maire glanced at each other as they thought about this for a second, Prudence saying that Gloriana was only a baby in spite of her budding powers and that she wouldn't be able to say the incantation properly, Hilda looking at Faustus for confirmation on what he thought best as she tried to apply pressure to one of the nastier wounds on her sister's body, Faustus nodding his agreement at Ambrose's suggestion, stepping forwards from where he’d been standing and telling Hilda to guide his daughter through the pronunciation of the incantation, it taking several minutes of affection and shushing in order for Gloriana to be calm enough to listen to what was being said to her, those minutes spent with Marie and Prudence casting as many healing and preservation spells as they could.

"Gloriana, love," Hilda whispered, stroking her niece's arm, "Can you say 'Mora?' I bet you can't." The worried aunt forcing a smile onto her face in an attempt at making her question appear fun and game-like in spite of her fears for her sister.

"We're losing her." Whispered Marie, and Hilda, heart pumping in her chest, said, prompting the baby as she remained quiet

"Come on, Gloriana, say 'Mora.'"

Gloriana letting out a small whimper in response to this request, trying to hide her face against her father’s chest but finding that he wouldn’t let her, the baby whimpering before sniffing and whispering, “M-m-m-m-mora”, quietly a few seconds later, saying the short incantation in her sweet little baby voice, not understanding what was happening or why she was being asked to do so, only knowing mummy's eyes were shut and that people were upset, able to hear their frantic minds and feel their fear.

Everything fell silent, except for the sound of Gloriana’s pitiful whimpers as she rested her head against her father's chest, tension thick in the air as they waited to see the result, Hilda waiting a moment before cautiously peeling away a blood-soaked rag from one of her sister's wounds, letting out a relieved sigh as she saw that blood didn't instantly begin spilling from it, sniffing tearfully as she said,

"It worked... Well done, Gloriana, well done!"

Sabrina piping up, "Is Aunt Zee gonna be ok now?", her brown eyes wide, Hilda saying that she just might be, her voice relieved as the room let out a collectively held breath, the blonde Spellman sister asking Prudence to banish the rags from Zelda and join hands with her and Marie as they said the wound healing charm, preparing to go straight onto casting a spell that would assess how much blood Zelda needed transfusing as several of the Academy students began to pray to Lilith for her help in regard to Zelda's situation.

There was a chance, a chance at them being able to get Zelda a shot at recovery, and all Hilda, Ambrose, Faustus, Sabrina, Prudence, Marie, Vinegar Tom, Gloriana and the rest of the Academy could do was hope they managed to do successfully.

* * *

In the several days that passed after Zelda was pulled out of the car wreck by Mambo Marie an investigation went underway to find out why the car had crashed; another poppet being found hidden away inside the car's trunk with two large needles sticking through it in an X formation. An interrogation was undertaken immediately, similar to that of when they found the poppet in Zelda's handbag, with everyone questioned, the car examined and things gone over and over until it was reluctantly agreed that they weren't going to find the person who purposefully caused the crash because they were either very good at hiding themselves or had simply placed both poppets in their chosen hiding places and left without a trace, either option enough for the family and coven to be more than a little concerned, Hilda saying she'd enchant a ring with a protection charm for Zelda to wear so that she was safe upon waking up. Over the 9 days that followed the incident Hilda tended to her sister with quiet despair, looking after her each day, applying cold compresses to her forehead, giving her injections, casting healing spells, examining her for any changes or worries in her medical condition, and taking her vitals, doing so with lingering worry in her mind as she kept her under sedation as she recovered, the woman even brushing her sister's hair and washing her, knowing Zelda would hate to look anything other than her best even now. Sabrina cried a lot whenever she came to visit her aunt, Ambrose tried to keep up a strong façade to hide his stress, Prudence helped Hilda get Zelda's make up perfect whenever she came to visit on a morning, and Faustus … well … Faustus never left Zelda's side, sitting by her bed day in day out, putting his running of the Academy on the back burner as he remained next to his wife, taking hold of her hands in his and placing a kiss on them, watching her chest rise and fall and asking Hilda multiple questions regarding the situation and everything it entailed, taking turns with the family to read Zelda her daily newspaper even though they all knew she couldn't hear them. 

On the afternoon of the 9th day Faustus sat on the edge of the medical-room-bed perched by Zelda's side as he looked at her with agonized eyes, holding Gloriana in his arms and placing a kiss to the baby's hair as she whined sadly, not understanding why mummy wouldn't wake up and overwhelmed with both her own sadness and everyone else's. As Hilda entered the room, a frown on her lips, shoulders hunched, she walked over to the bed Zelda was lying in, checking her vitals and tucking a strand of hair behind her sister's ear before casting another healing spell over her, saying

"I think we should lift the sedation today, there's no reason to keep it going for much longer." Her tone neutral, not the bright and cheery one it usually was.

Faustus let out a small noise of acknowledgement at this, not tearing his gaze away from his wife and listening as Hilda said that she needed to tell him something, the High Priest meeting her gaze and telling her to go on, addressing her as Sister Spellman and waiting for a second before Hilda continued

"I ran some tests yesterday and it seems Zelda has Pre-eclampsia, which will explain why she's been feeling so ill during this pregnancy, the signs are unmissable."

Faustus holding Gloriana a little tighter as he asked, voice numb 

"What's Pre-eclampsia?"

Hilda sitting next to him on the bed and replying

"Well … it's a condition where the placenta doesn't develop properly due to a problem with the blood vessels, we don't really know why it happens.” Anxiously tucking her hair behind her ear as she continued, “That's the reason the baby is a little small, the lack of oxygen in the placenta, but they're ok, they're not at risk, they just might come a little early and be underweight when born, there's a spell I can cast to make sure they still develop properly in spite of Zelda's illness as it continues."

Faustus asking how serious the condition was, eyebrows knitting together in worry as he touched Zelda's unmoving hand, Vinegar Tom whimpering from where he lay by his mistress's feet.

"Um," said Hilda, thinking for a moment over how best to phrase her answer, "If left untreated it can cause blurred vision, intense pain, swollen ankles, headaches, convulsions and... um," swallowing hard she continued, "it can ultimately cause death," the youngest Spellman sister hurriedly moving on to the next part of her sentence so as not to leave the word hanging in the air, "but we're not going to let it get that far, Zelda's got a few of the symptoms now, the headaches, the swollen ankles, the nausea, high blood pressure and dizziness, but there's a treatment I'll be giving her to keep it in check as the months go on."

The concerned husband looking expectant as she said this, asking

"Well? What is it?" His worry for both his unborn son or daughter and his wife clear in his voice as Gloriana fussed.

Hilda glancing downwards nervously and commenting, squeezing her hands together tight where they sat on her lap to keep herself from crying as she spoke about the latest development with her sister

"There's pills she can take to keep her blood pressure down and others she'll need so fits are prevented. I'll be doing daily checks on baby to make sure they're healthy and not stressed in the womb and daily checks on Zelda too to make sure her organs continue to function as they should and that nothing worsens." Giving Faustus a little smile in an attempt to comfort him she said, "There's spells too, spells I'll be casting in order to help with everything, this isn't as serious as it is for mortals, we can make it so that it's manageable and the risk is minimized."

Faustus taking this on board, his fear of losing both Zelda and the baby playing in the back of his mind as Hilda, trying to hide her own worry, asked

"Shall I get you a drink?"

Faustus asking for whiskey and Hilda getting it for him, having downing a shot of gin whilst fixing it in order to steady her own nerves.

As footsteps sounded out in the Academy, students heading to classes and laughing with each other as they did so, the sound somewhat eerie to hear during such a serious situation, Hilda went over to Zelda's monitors and said

"I'm going to lift the sedation now, Faustus, ready?"

Faustus nodding sombrely as Hilda took a breath and cast the sedation lifting spell, standing back and taking Gloriana from her father as Zelda's monitors blinked and the woman's eyelids began to flutter, Zelda’s green eyes opening and looking around the room for a couple of seconds as everything came into place, the witch remembering what had happened and sitting upright in bed, her monitor wires snagging as Faustus wrapped his arms around his wife as she panickedly asked

"What happened? Where's Gloriana?" Faustus shushing her affectionately and saying that Mambo Marie had found her and managed to get the three of them out of the car and to the Academy just in time, saying that she was ok and that Gloriana was in Hilda's arms, pulling away from the hug and cupping her cheek as the woman asked, "The baby... is the baby... and Vinegar Tom is he-" Vinegar Tom jumping up from his place at the end of the bed upon hearing Zelda's voice, barking loudly and scurrying towards her, licking his witch's face and being pulled into her arms for a hug as Faustus told Zelda that the baby was fine, Vinegar Tom's injuries were healed, Gloriana wasn't hurt and that, most importantly, she was safe, the man’s gaze fixed on her as gratitude washed through him upon seeing her awake, Zelda looking around for Gloriana and reaching out her arms for her as Hilda moved closer and Vinegar Tom curled up next to her.

"Here she is Zelds, we took good care of her." Hilda said, touching her sister's shoulder affectionately as Zelda said that she 'should think _so_ ' and hugged her little girl tight, wrapping her arms around her and smelling the top of her head as the baby excitedly crowed, “Mama!”, cooing happily whilst in her embrace.

Footsteps sounded on stairs to the medical room as Ambrose, Sabrina and Prudence rushed to it, having received the news that Zelda was awake from Vinegar Tom's bark and Salem's understanding of it, the door to the room being opened and Sabrina rushing over, hugging her Aunt, her arms wrapped around both the woman and Gloriana as she squeezed, pulling away tearfully and saying

"I'm so glad you're ok, Auntie." 

Zelda giving her a small smile of understanding at this as Ambrose leant against the doorway and relievedly said he was glad to see her awake, Prudence asking if she needed anything, Hilda saying after a few minutes that that was enough affectionate ambushing for now, the bell ringing for class a short time later and the trio making their way out of the room, Ambrose making a joke about Sabrina having her monitor back once more, Prudence being sincere in her thankfulness that she was alright and Sabrina wiping her tears in the brief moment before they left for class.

"Cup of tea, Zels?" Asked Hilda, Zelda not looking up from where she was bouncing Gloriana on her knee and allowing Vinegar Tom to lick her arm as she answered

"With cream?"

Hilda chuckling at this and saying, "Of course," - glad to have her sister and all of her bossy nature back once more.

As Hilda left the room to make the tea Faustus leaned in and kissed his wife deeply, feeling her return the kiss and pulling away after a lingering moment, reaching into his pocket.

"Here," he began, handing her a cigarette that was already placed in her holder and saying, "I've charmed this and the rest of the packet so that they're safe to smoke whilst pregnant and around children." The man having known Zelda would need a smoke upon waking up and wanting to have it prepared for her, using several hours a night, during the time in which he was meant to be sleeping, to craft the spell, Zelda giving him an affectionate gaze before asking if he could spark her up, Faustus doing so and placing the cigarette to her lips, watching as she took a deep drag, shutting her eyes and exhaling the smoke as the familiar action calmed her nerves.

"She's not crying." Mused Zelda a brief moment later, looking down at a docile Gloriana, the baby sucking her thumb as she rested contentedly in her mother's arms.

"Hilda managed to finalise and brew the perfect teething remedy the same day of your crash."

Faustus informed her, what could have happened had they not fought being silently gone over in both Faustus and Zelda's minds, the wish that they'd remained civil until Hilda had had the opportunity to come round and give Gloriana her first dose of the potion a few hours after work palpable around them as Zelda sighed and met her husband's gaze, saying

"I apologize for my actions the day of my accident, I just-" 

Faustus looking at her with an intense gaze as he said

"I know." The man leaning in and capturing Zelda's lips in his as an understanding formed between the pair, Faustus pulling away and keeping his face close to Zelda's as he glanced downwards and continued, "You never have to worry about my commitment to you, _never_."

Zelda nodding in response and resting back against the propped-up pillows of her medical-room-bed, knowing how difficult that would have been for Faustus to admit and accepting his words, their fight seeming small now in regard to everything that had happened afterwards.

Hilda re-entered the room holding a teacup a handful of minutes after their conversation ended, placing the cup on her sister's bedside table as Faustus took Gloriana from her, Zelda being engulfed in a tight hug from Hilda as she told her sister never to scare her like that again, Zelda unable to respond as the woman pulled away and handed her her mug with tearful eyes, Zelda sipping the tea as Vinnie T snuggled into place on his witch's lap and Hilda wiped her eyes, the British-accented-sister and Faustus making eye contact not long after the hug ended and Zelda frowning in concern as her Hilda said she needed to be informed of something.

* * *

Zelda took the news of her Pre-eclampsia resiliently, knowing the dangers of the condition and only choosing to focus on what could be done in her response, doing her best to trap her worry over the situation in a box in the back of her mind and continuing to do what needed to be done in the aftermath of her accident and the beginning of her treatment, resting in bed as she recovered from the crash and insisting on having work brought to her so she could plan the term's stimulus for the staff members covering her lessons because, according to Zelda, those trying to take the classes for her wouldn't teach them efficiently, Faustus agreeing with her on that as Hilda rolled her eyes in response. The woman read books on magic to further her knowledge on the latest information published, read to Gloriana in various different languages in order to ensure her daughter grew up multilingual just like she and Faustus, and had her newspaper to occupy herself with, reading in detail to distract herself from her desire to be doing things. She despised taking the pills to treat her illness each day, shockingly she would have preferred it if Hilda had mixed the medication in with some type of tea, because at least _that_ would have been preferable to having to take several large tablets the size of horse tranquilizers, however, in spite of this dislike she took them anyway, because what else could she do? Faustus came to visit her whenever he could during the working day, spending many evenings with her, doting on her and making sure everything was up to their standards, Ambrose came to visit her, the pair often playing chess, and Prudence checked in each day too. As well as her aforementioned visitors Zelda made sure that Sabrina came to see her after school each day so that they could go over her studies together, Hilda royally irritating her elder sister with her constant fussing and asking her how she felt, having to remind her that she was doing so for her own good, the pair continuing to try and complete the jigsaw they had been working on ever since Ambrose had called them in for help regarding the body of the poor dead not-so-mortal-'mortal'-boy a long long time ago. In between her visitors and trying to occupy her mind Zelda slept a lot, the post exertion malaise she felt from the crash, the exhaustion from Pre-eclampsia mixing with general pregnancy fatigue, and the after effects of the daily spells and check-ups causing her to grow easily exhausted.

A month later, when she was 4 months away from being full term, Zelda lay on her and Faustus's bed at Blackwood Manor, resting her head against her husband's chest, the man absentmindedly stroking her hair as he thought deeply about something, a frown on his face as he appeared lost in thought. Zelda noticed this expression upon looking up, and worry was her first reaction, Faustus only ever got that look on his face when he was ruminating over something serious, the same expression being on his face several times before, it being there when he had asked her why she hadn't been to the dance the day after Edward had sealed the house stopping her from leaving, it being there when he had teleported Zelda into the Academy during the coming of the Greendale 13, and it also being there just before he had asked her to marry him. Moving herself into sitting position Zelda reached for her pack of non-harmful-cigarettes, plucking one from the packet's clutches and inserting it into her gold cigarette holder with care before lighting it and sliding the ring of the holder onto her finger, walking over to the window on the other side of their bedroom and opening it, looking out into the forest and feeling the gentle breeze on her skin as she took a drag, exhaling and listening to the birds chirp their evening song as the sky began to dim, keeping her free hand resting against her stomach just as she'd done ever since she’d begun to show, both the feeling of her hand against her bump and the exhaling of the smoke calming her as she listened to a wren trill it's song and let the stress of the day momentarily leave her system.

She stubbed out her cigarette after a couple more drags, shutting the window and walking back over to the bed, discarding the cigarette stub into the art deco ashtray on her bedside table, the ashtray being one of Greta Garbo's old ones, Zelda having purchased it from an antiques auction during her travels around Bangkok and St. Petersburg several years ago, the woman glancing over towards her High Priest as she sat down, hearing him speak and turning to face him as he said he had desired her attention, the woman listening as he met her gaze and said

"I have a proposition to put to you." Zelda nodding for him to go on, a curious expression forming on her face as Faustus continued a couple of seconds later, "What would you say if I asked you to join me in leading the Academy, sharing power with me and becoming High Priestess of the Church of Lilith?" His tone serious, face sincere as he spoke, Zelda feeling momentarily shocked as she breathed

"High Priestess?" 

Faustus nodding and leaning forwards, taking her hands in his as he said

"Yes. You would be above the level of Lady Blackwood and run the Academy by my side, imagine the power we could hold together, the things we could achieve."

The offer of power was seductive, it enticed her. She'd always thought she was destined for more, always desired to command greater things, her husband's suggestion ticking all the right boxes. As High Priestess she’d be able to do so much, she could redeem her family's name from the somewhat tarnished level it had fallen to after Edward had married Diana and Sabrina had begun causing so much trouble, she could create an Academy that rivalled all others, surpass the glass ceiling, design a new future for witches, set an example for Gloriana, and do what her father had always said a woman could never do - wield authority. 

Faustus watched as Zelda thought over his offer, an offer he had made after realising just how close he had come to losing her, believing she would be an even more powerful asset if raised higher and deeming her a worthy partner, the dark-haired warlock waiting for Zelda's answer in the silence that fell between them as she considered.

With a small smirk twisting onto her red lips, Zelda leaned in towards her husband, placing a hand against his knee, taking a moment before she finally responded to his offer, saying

"Faustus... I would be honoured to take my place by your side as High Priestess.”


	7. Quite the Feisty Little Witchling.

It was a beautiful day in Greendale, with the sun shining through the branches of an oak tree outside and causing the shadow-born pattern of it’s leaves to spill onto the walls of the room in which students were sitting, the dark image of the tree on the walls mirroring it’s counterpart as the oak stood outside one of the large windows of Baxter High and Sabrina sat inside studying with Roz, half looking at her text book and half watching the shadows move on the walls as the gentle breeze caused the oak tree's leaves to dance. It was the perfect day for the coronation of a High Priestess, one of those rare days in the autumnal town of Greendale in which the skies were bright blue but the sharp nip of a chill in the air still remained. 

“What you thinkin’ about, ‘Brina? You’ve been quiet today, what is it?” Asked Roz, looking up from her history book, with a concerned face. 

With a little smile Sabrina turned her attention to her friend, sitting back in her chair as she shrugged with faux nonchalance and said 

“Oh, I’m ok, just ... family stuff.” 

Her tone slightly off as she tried to keep her response neutral. 

Leaning forwards in her seat Roz shook her head, giving Sabrina an affectionate look as she reached out and placed a hand atop her friend’s, Sabrina glancing down towards their hands before meeting Roz’s gaze as her friend said 

“Uh-uh, ‘Brina, I know you too well. Spill, what is it?” 

The blonde teen folding her lips before admitting 

“It’s my Aunt Zelda.” 

“Is she still not well?” Queried Roz with a furrowing of her brow, worry for her friend in her voice. 

“She’s doing better with the treatment,” began Sabrina, sounding a little like she was trying to convince herself of the fact as she rested her chin against her propped-up fist, “Aunt Hilda keeps having to hide her lesson plans and shoes so she stays on bed rest and doesn’t try and work or leave her bedroom.” 

“She has to hide her _shoes_?” Roz laughed, ignoring the look the librarian gave her for being so loud. 

“Yeah! Auntie Zee hates having her feet on display, she thinks it’s uncivilized, so she always wears her shoes around the house even when we’re relaxing, she’ll sit in her armchair with her feet on top of the foot stool and keep her shoes on.” Replied Sabrina with a small chuckle, her eyes clouding over again as she sighed and said, “But the Pre-eclampsia isn’t what I'm worried about, it’s the poppets we keep found, I know Aunt Hilda charmed that ring for her to wear but I’m still worried, what if we find another one? What if we find one and Aunt Zee forgets to wear her ring and-” 

“Hey, hey... it’ll be ok, ‘Brina,” Soothed Roz, cutting in when she saw her friend beginning to spiral, “Zelda’s ok now, right? And she has people looking after her even though she hates it?” The teen pausing as Sabrina mumbled the words ‘I guess’, “Your Aunt Hilda and Uncle-in-law will look out for her and besides your Aunt Zelda is like, fiercely smart, yeah? She’ll remember to keep the ring on, and even if she doesn’t and you find another poppet she’ll still be protected because she has you guys, she’s been ok each time one’s been found even without the ring.” 

“But what if the person who created the poppets finds another way to hurt her? I still think that gargoyle statue falling from the stairs was connected somehow.” Sabrina responded grumblingly, the teen voicing the main worry of the rest of the family without knowing it, Roz shrugging unsurely at this, sighing before she replied 

“I don’t know. But whatever happens your aunt’ll be ok, because she has all of you, and anyway, she’s really powerful, that’s what you’ve said before, and you’ve seen the way she scares Harvey just by looking at him ... I imagine that if she ever meets the person who’s created those poppets they won’t get away scar-free!” 

Sabrina nodded slowly, taking this on board, recalling her instant decision to start a fight with Prudence after the girl had hidden her clothing during her first night at the Academy and knowing that that choice had come from everything Zelda had taught her about standing up for herself, knowing that her aunt would fight a dark battle and go in for the kill if placed in danger. 

Feeling a little more settled now that she’d voiced her concerns, Sabrina allowed herself to calm and checked the time, seeing she was running late and jumping up from her seat, grabbing her things, the librarian telling her to be careful as she clumsily tried to pile all her books in her arms, almost dropping several. 

“Woah, what’s the rush?” Questioned Roz curiously, Sabrina telling her that she was going to be late for the Antipope’s arrival, “Oooh, Antipope, that sounds fancy,” her friend teased, continuing, “Why’s he coming?” 

“He’s performing a ceremony at the Academy. My Aunt’s being made High Priestess and because it’s the first time this has happened in a coven-” 

“Wait, this is the first time a woman has taken control of a coven?” Asked Roz, speaking over Sabrina in indignation. 

“Yeah, sometimes when a High Priest dies and he and his wife didn’t have kids the wife takes over until they decide what to do but that’s super rare, they usually just appoint the next man in line for the position, like a brother or cousin of the High Priest or the Academy’s Top Boy, this is the first time a witch has taken the position because the High Priest wanted his wife to rule alongside him.” Informed Sabrina. 

“Well then it’s about time something like this happened!” Declared Roz, going on to ask, “Can I come too?” 

Sabrina tilting her head to the side in confusion, her lips slightly pursed as she asked 

“Um, why?” 

Roz responding 

“Because it’s a historic occasion for women everywhere!” 

Sabrina thinking deeply, her brow crinkling as she whispered, moving closer to Roz so she didn’t have to announce her status as a half-witch to the whole school, for once seeming to demonstrate some forethought

“But you’re a mortal... we could get in serious trouble and I don't want to lose my magic again if we're caught, remember what Aunt Zelda said when I took you to see the outside of the Academy?” 

“Getting into troubles never stopped us before.” Teased Roz with a smile, the look in her eyes wearing Sabrina down as she smiled and said 

“Ok! I’ll cast a spell to hide your real identity from everyone, and you’ll have to come up with a fake name so my aunts don’t know it’s you.” 

“Done! Thank you, ‘Brina, this is so exciting!” Beamed Roz enthusiastically, Sabrina taking her friend’s hand and saying they should go, the pair giggling as they ran through the corridor of Baxter High and out the entrance, heading to the Academy to get ready for the Antipope’s arrival. 

* * *

The Entrance Hall of the Academy was bustling with students and staff members as they waited for the Antipope to arrive, all of them talking to one another as excitement filled the air. A new era was dawning in the coven, and as Zelda stood next to Faustus, Gloriana in her arms, Hilda by her side, Prudence with the rest of the students (having been put in charge of crowd control, her father knowing she would terrify her peers into silence with a single look the second the Antipope got here) she looked around the room, silently praying to Lilith to give her the strength she needed to get through the momentous day ahead of her, brushing her hand across her stomach and letting out a quiet breath of discomfort as her unborn baby kicked, Hilda noticing this and asking 

“You alright, Zelds?” 

Zelda tucking a strand of exquisitely styled hair behind her ear as she responded 

“Perfectly fine.” 

The woman shifting from one foot to the other as her back, ankles and feet ached, Hilda giving her sister a quick once over with her eyes and spotting her heels, saying as Gloriana cooed 

“You shouldn’t be wearing heels, Zelds, you’ll be standing up for a long time today and the pain after wearing them all day will only make you feel worse.” 

“What’s going on here?” Irritatedly asked Faustus, turning from where he’d been speaking to one of the Academy staff members and giving the sisters an expectant look, having heard the strained chatter coming from Zelda and Hilda and not having the patience for whatever was happening, deciding to cut whatever was occurring off at the head in order to save face later on, not wanting any scrapping between the two women to disrupt the future day's events or, more importantly, cause him embarrassment in front of the Antipope. 

Hilda tried to reply to Faustus’s query over what was going on but Zelda cut her off, placing a hand to the High Priest’s arm and saying 

“Nothing to concern yourself with, Faustus, Hilda’s just fussing over some nonsense.” 

The strawberry blonde feeling her head ache more intensely as one of the students let out a high-pitched squeal over nothing whatsoever. 

“It’s not nonsense.” Hilda retorted, “Forgive me Father but Zelda really needs to sit down she’s been on her feet for far too long and-” 

“Cast some longevity spells on me if you’re so worried, but I will not meet the Antipope sitting down, it would be preposterous.” Zelda said with a hardness to her tone, the pacing she was having to do in order to combat her condition infuriating her, Hilda knowing this and falling quiet, silently casting some spells as Faustus turned to meet his wife’s gaze, commenting that she’d have to last a little longer with the Antipope’s plane getting in late, asking her if she felt able to, Zelda replying that of course she did, Faustus giving her a pleased smile before going back to speaking with the aforementioned staff member about the security measures placed around the Academy. 

As Ambrose passed them by Gloriana reached out for him with a squeak as he moved to stand next to Prudence, and the man turned round upon hearing this, gently touching his baby cousin’s cheek as he said 

“You be on your best behaviour, little wolf,” giving Hilda and Zelda a wry smile as he continued, “You too aunties.” Zelda rolling her eyes at this as Hilda chuckled in amusement, the Top Boy of the Church of Lilith joining the group of people at the front of the crowd, slipping into place between Prudence and Sabrina as Roz watched from between Melvin and Elspeth a few rows away, standing amongst the group of witches and warlocks with a look of disbelief on her face as she took in everything about the Academy, catching Sabrina’s eye as her friend looked back to check on her and giving her a thumbs up. 

It had been remarkably easy to get inside the building without anyone recognising her, all she'd had to do was sign a different name in the guest book and say who she was attending the ceremony with in order to be allowed inside the school walls, simply following Sabrina’s lead and doing her best to blindly ignore Zelda’s old warning from almost 15 months ago, the words the woman had said to her when she’d spotted her on the Academy grounds with Sabrina being pushed back in her mind as she attempted to forget them. 

_“Witches and warlocks have a register, anyone could look up Rosalind and find that she wasn't in fact a witch. You're putting yourself and your friend in grave danger by acting so foolishly.”_

So far no one had realised it was her, the identity hiding spell cast on her had been working perfectly, she just had to hope no one would check the validity of the name she’d given, but then again why would they? Yes, she was an unknown guest, but the Academy members would have to be rather paranoid to scan every guest's name, right? And she was a guest of Sabrina after all, surely that gave her some freedom from suspicion. As Roz stood there, she felt a sinking feeling in her chest and tried to supress it, forcing herself to enjoy the moment and where she was instead of panicking and ruining it for herself. 

“He’s here, the Antipope’s here!” Called out one of the students who’d been put on lookout duty and Faustus and Zelda shared a glance before the man stepped forwards to open the door to The Academy of Unseen Arts, Hilda turning to Zelda and whispering in a bubbly tone 

“Ooh the Antipope, exciting!” Zelda looking towards her sister and giving her a look of disapproval over how she was acting, the look stopping Hilda in her tracks, causing her to swallow and say, “Right, ok, yeah... be serious...” 

The blonde affecting a neutral expression and waiting a second before moving her hand into the gap between them both, taking hold of Zelda’s hand, able to see how tense her sister was and wanting to grant her reassurance, Zelda stiffening a little upon feeling Hilda’s hand take hers, her fingers remaining pointed straight down instead of naturally curling in order to take hold of the hand that held her own, the woman keeping her gaze fixed forwards as she swallowed, allowing their hands to remain entwined, slowly slipping her fingers in between Hilda’s in response to the calming gesture as the Antipope came into view. 

As soon as the Antipope entered the building a hushed silence fell upon the Academy’s inhabitants and Faustus stepped forwards, bowing his head respectfully in greeting as was custom and saying 

“Your Unholiness.” 

The Antipope responding with, “High Priest Blackwood,” and offering him his hand, which Faustus, having raised his head moments beforehand, took in his own, the pair shaking hands firmly. 

“It is a great dishonour to greet you, Your Unholiness, I hope you had a hellish journey. May I introduce you to some of the students we have here?” Asked Faustus, a nod being given to him in response as the Antipope extended a hand suggesting the High Priest lead the way, Faustus walking with him towards the front row of students standing in the Academy hall, arriving in front of Prudence and saying, “My daughter, Prudence Blackwood.” 

Prudence meeting the Antipope’s gaze before bowing her head as she greeted the man by using his title, the Antipope remarking, “Miss Blackwood,” and giving her a look that lasted a beat too long before continuing on to greet Ambrose, Faustus introducing him by saying 

“My nephew by marriage and our Top Boy, Ambrose Spellman.” 

Ambrose greeting him with a serious bow of the head and a respectful 

“Your Unholiness, it’s a dishonour to meet you.” 

The Antipope saying it was likewise, finding something about Ambrose that made him wish to grant him the same level of respect he had been given even if he wasn’t fully committed to the gesture. Faustus going on to turn to Sabrina, a slight disapproval and heaviness in his tone as he said 

“My niece by marriage, Sabrina Spellman.” 

Sabrina sticking out her hand to be shaken by their guest, the handshake of an Antipope being an action only meant to be given to the highest members of any Academy, and smiling as she said 

“Your Unholiness.” 

The Antipope looking at her for a second before letting out a gravelly, amused chuckle at her impertinence and greeting her by saying 

“Miss Spellman.” 

Choosing to briefly humour the teen with a head-bow as Faustus moved to where the rest of his family were standing, taking a few steps away from Prudence, Ambrose and Sabrina and towards the statue of Lilith, stopping in front of Hilda and saying, keeping his voice low and respectful as he interacted with the leader of all covens 

“My sister-in-law, Hilda Spellman.” 

Hilda smiling at the Antipope before bowing her head and saying in a slightly nervous yet quintessentially ‘Hilda’ tone 

“Oh, Your Unholiness, hello.” 

The Antipope finding himself returning the pleasant greeting with an equally intoned, “Miss Spellman." 

Zelda feeling her heart pounding in her chest and hearing the blood pounding in her ears as it came to her turn, offering the Antipope a deep bow of the head as she said, tone thick with the high regard she had for the man 

“Your Unholiness, we are all humbled by your presence here, thank you for deeming our coven worthy of your time.” 

Looking back up at him with large admiring green eyes as she unlaced her hand from her sister’s, the Antipope taking her newly free hand in his and shaking it as he said 

“Our first High Priestess...” Running his eyes over her in order to take her in, smiling a little smile at her, a smile which Zelda returned, as he remarked, “Yes, I think you’ll fit the role very nicely.” The Antipope placing a kiss to the back of her hand and giving her a lingering look as he let it go, turning his gaze towards the baby in her arms before asking 

“And who's this?” 

Still looking at Zelda, obviously expecting her to reply instead of Faustus, Zelda taking the hint and saying, looking down at her daughter with pride 

“This is Gloriana,” The woman glancing over to Faustus before turning her gaze back to the Antipope as she said, “Our daughter.” 

The Antipope smiling at the little girl as he took in her perfect features, porcelain doll appearance and striking colouring, greeting her with, "Well, aren’t you a hellish thing?”, Zelda telling her daughter to say hello as the Antipope reached out to take her tiny balled fist in his hand, Gloriana surprising everyone as she recoiled in her mother’s arms and firmly stated 

“No.” 

Shock flooding the room as Zelda attempted to remain calm and said in the soft voice she kept reserved for Gloriana, thankful that she had Vinegar Tom standing by her feet for moral support 

“Don’t be silly, Gloriana, say hello.” 

Doing her best to appear as though she wasn’t horrified by her daughter’s negative response to the most powerful man in the witch and warlock world and not having time to wonder why Gloriana was reacting this way as the infant exclaimed in a distressed voice 

“No! Bad!” 

Faustus trying to take control of the situation as he looked towards the Antipope and began 

“Your Unholiness, I apologize for my daughter’s-” 

The Antipope cutting him off as he looked at Gloriana and said, surprising amusement in his voice 

“Do not fear, High Priest Blackwood,” The man reaching out and cupping Gloriana’s cheek in his hand, ignoring her attempt at wriggling away as he leaned in closer to her and said, “Quite the feisty little witchling, aren’t you? You will do well amongst the lesser witches and warlocks as you grow.” 

Gloriana beginning to grizzle and fuss as the Antipope kept his hand pressed against her cheek for a few seconds longer than necessary, Zelda protectively placing a hand against her baby’s arm in an attempt to comfort her, not being able to do anything else for fear of upsetting the Antipope, knowing everything that could follow on from that if they did so, a bad feeling forming in her stomach as the warlock straightened up once again, the woman trying to ignore it as she glanced towards Faustus, neither of them having the chance to put together what the combination of Gloriana’s mind/emotion reading gifts and her negative response to meeting with the Antipope could mean, both of them being much too preoccupied with being in the presence of the high up authority figure visiting their school and getting swept into another conversation with him as he suggested they go get ready for the ceremony, Zelda instinctively deciding to keep Gloriana close as they all filed out of the room to prepare, Roz rushing to Sabrina’s side as they left the Hall and beginning to gossip with her friend over everything they had just witnessed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment, they're what keep me motivated and only take a minute of your time.


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